QfcE 


iBtJiwB 


h 


PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


54^. 


Division.. 
Section  . . 
Number... 


,-6is: 


is 


•  •  .  *• 


>\  V 


&0£yer7^L*\        //    (2>?  2  7    (  Y, 


THE     FIRST     ADAM     AND    THE    SECOND. 


THE 


ELOHIM  REVEALED 


CREATION  AND  REDEMPTION  OF  MAN 


#eoc  icpavspcody  iv  aapxe.—iTm.m.is. 


SAMUEL  j/BAIRD,  D.D. 

PASTOR     OF    THE    P RE S B T T ER I  A N     CaUKCU,    WOODBURT,     N.  J. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
LINDSAY    &    BLAKISTOX. 

18G0. 


Hutered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1859,  by 

SAMUEL  J.  BAIRD, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Eastern 
District  of  Pennsylvania. 


STEREOTYPED   BY  L.  JOHNSON  &   CO. 
PHILADELPHIA.. 


COLLIN'S,    PRINTER. 


MY  BELOVED  AND   VENERATED   MOTHER, 

ESTHER  THOMPSON  BAIRD, 

IS    INSCRIBED 

THIS  ATTEMPT   TO   EXHIBIT   SOME   OF    THE   DOCTRINES    OF    CHRIST, 

THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  WHICH  WERE  LEARNED  AT  IIEIt  FEET, 

FROM   THE   WESTMINSTER   CATECHISMS   AND   THE   WORD   OF   GOD, 

AND  DEVELOPED  IN  THEIR  HARMONIOUS  PROPORTIONS 

IN   THE    SABBATH    EVENING   FAMILY   EXPOSITIONS   OF 

A   FATHER 

WHOSE  FAITH  IS  LONG  SINCE  LOST  IN  VISION. 


PREFACE. 


The  Delphic  motto,  "  Know  thyself,"  is  the  utmost  achievement  of  olassii 
philosophy.  It  is  the  first  principle  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ, — the  starting 
point  to  the  higher  knowledge  of  God  and  his  Son.  And,  whilst  philosophy 
exhausts  itself  in  constructing  the  maxim,  and  utterly  fails  to  show  how  we 
may  come  to  self-knowledge,  the  gospel  proclaims  Him  in  whose  glorious 
person  man  is  one  with  Jehovah, — without  whom  we  can  know  neither  our- 
selves nor  God;  and,  knowing  whom,  we  have  all  knowledge.  The  apostasj 
of  man,  the  corruption  and  depravity  into  which  he  plunged  himself  by  his 
rebellion,  and  the  curse  thereby  incurred  from  a  God  of  holiness  and  truth. 
are  the  cardinal  facts  which  lie  at  the  basis  of  the  whole  saving  doctrine  of 
the  Scriptures  ; — facts  which,  if  misunderstood  or  ignored,  the  word  of  God 
is  a  riddle;  if  denied,  the  very  person  of  Christ  is  a  lie.  The  doctrine,  there- 
fore, of  original  sin,  has  ever  been  held,  by  the  church  of  God,  to  be  funda- 
mental to  the  whole  system  of  truth;  and  every  attempt  to  pervert  that  doc- 
trine, or  to  set  it  aside,  has  been  justly  regarded  as  heresy,  fraught  with  the 
most  fatal  consequences  to  the  scheme  of  grace  and  the  souls  of  men.  A 
testimony  to  doctrines  so  important  can  never  be  unseasonable;  and  is,  per- 
haps, especially  appropriate  to  the  pi-esent  time,  when  we  have  increasing 
evidence  of  defection  from  these  doctrines,  among  some  of  our  American 
churches,  which  once  gloried  in  the  faith  they  now  disown,  and  were  set  for 
the  defence  of  the  truth  which  they  now  reject  and  assail. 

At  an  early  date  in  the  ministry  of  the  author,  he  began  to  prepare  what 
was  designed  to  be  a  brief  treatise  on  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  viewed  as  the 
progressive  unfolding  of  an  eternal  plan  for  the  revelation  of  the  Most  High, 
Other  cares  and  labours  interposed,  and  the  work  was  laid  aside.  More 
recently,  circumstances  of  special  interest  to  him,  but  of  no  moment  to  the 
public,  determined  him  to  utter  a  testimony  to  some  of  the  doctrines  which 
are  set  forth  in  this  work.  At  first  no  more  was  designed  than  a  very  brief 
exposition  of  some  cardinal  points.  But,  as  he  proceeded,  the  theme  ex- 
panded; and  the  importance  of  the  topics,  the  impossibility  of  doing  them 
justice  in  a  brief  discussion,  and  the  delight  enjoyed  in  contemplating  the 
scheme  of  God,  of  which  they  constitute  the  chief  elements,  have  insensiblj 
controlled  the  pen,  until  the  present  volume  is  the  result. 

It  has  been  remarked,  by  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  our  noble  brother- 
hood of  divines,  that  "we  want    some   central    principle,   which   embraces 

5 


6  Preface. 

equally  the  religion  of  nature  and  the  religion  of  grace.  Until  some  such 
central  principle  is  developed  in  its  all-comprehensive  relations,  we  are 
obliged  to  have  a  twofold  theology,  as  we  have  a  twofold  religion, — a  cove- 
nant of  works  and  a  covenant  of  grace,  with  no  bridge  between  them."* 
The  doctrine  which  is  illustrated  in  the  present  work, — that  of  God  revealed 
through  an  eternal  plan, — presents  itself  to  the  mind  of  the  writer  as  being 
the  desideratum  here  indicated ;  as  that  around  which  all  doctrinal  truths 
cluster  and  shine  in  a  light  and  harmony  not  otherwise  discoverable.  It  is 
not,  however,  as  an  exhibition  of  systematic  theology,  in  this  light,  that  the 
writer  lays  his  present  offering  at  the  feet  of  the  church  of  Christ.  But, 
looking  upon  this  as  the  true  point,  from  which  to  view  the  related  doc- 
trines of  the  ruin  and  recovery  of  man, — the  catastrophe  of  the  first  Adam 
and  the  redeeming  work  of  the  second, — he  has  constructed  the  argument, 
on  these  subjects,  in  accordance  with  that  idea;  and  only  appealed  to  the 
other  leading  features  of*  the  system  of  truth  for  the  illustration  of  these. 

The  fragmentary  manner  in  which  the  work  has  been  written, — at  times 
snatched  from  pastoral  and  other  labours  and  cares,  and  other  causes, — 
have  necessarily  induced  many  imperfections  and  defects.  Nor  would  the 
author  venture  before  the  public  in  a  form  so  imperfect,  did  he  not  hope 
that,  with  all,  his  offering  may  be  acceptable  to  Christ,  and  advantageous 
to  his  church  and  cause. 

Trained  from  my  childhood  in  the  love  of  the  doctrines  of  the  "Westmin- 
ster Confession, — confirmed,  by  the  results  of  my  maturest  studies,  in  the 
conviction  that  they  are  in  thorough  accordance  with  the  word  of  God, — I 
have  not  attempted  to  conceal  the  fervour  of  a  devoted  zeal  in  their  behalf; 
nor  to  imitate  that,  charity  which  consists  in  indifference  to  the  loveliness  of 
the  truth  and  the  deformity  of  error.  Constrained,  on  some  points,  to  differ 
with  brethren  and  fathers  beloved  and  venerated  in  our  own  church, — the 
candour  and  directness,  which  the  importance  of  the  questions  seemed  to  de- 
mand, have  not,  I  trust,  been  inconsistent  with  that  respect  and  deference 
which  I  cordially  cherish  for  men  at  whose  feet  I  should  be  happy  to  sit. 

The  introductory  chapter  is  designed  to  exhibit  the  position  which  has 
been  occupied  by  the  church,  from  age  to  age,  on  the  subject  of  original  sin. 
The  graces  of  composition  have  been  cheerfully  sacrificed  to  this  object.  My 
authorities,  besides  those  marginally  acknowledged,  are,  the  Corpus  et  Syn- 
tagma Confessionum,  by  Gaspar  Laurentius,  Geneva,  1612,  and  the  Collectio 
Confessionum,  by  Niemeyer. 

The  fruit  and  the  solace  of  many  toilsome  hours  is  now  committed  to  the 
candour  of  the  Christian  public, — not  without  the  earnest  hope  and  the 
prayer  that  He  in  whose  fear  it  has  been  written  will  accept  it  to  his  own 
glory,  and  the  furtherance  of  his  cause. 

*  Southern  Presbyterian  Review,  1858,  vol.  s.  p.  619. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

HISTORICAL   SKETCH   OF   THE   DOCTRINE    OF   ORIGINAL   SIN. — P.  11. 

$  1.  Doctrinal  development  through  contact  with  error.  §  2.  Doctrine  of  Tertullian. 
§  3.  Hilary  and  Ambrose.  §  4.  Pelagius.  $  5.  Augustine.  §  6.  Mediaeval  theology. 
§7.  Earlier  Reformed  confessions.  $8.  Continental  divines.  $9.  The  Remonstrants 
and  the  Synod  of  Dort.  §  10.  Westminster  Assembly.  §  11.  British  divines.  £  12. 
Doctrine  of  Placaeus.     §  13.  Edwardean  theology. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE   TRIUNE    CREATOR. — P.  51. 

£  1.  The  creation  was  by  the  Trinity  as  such.  §  2.  The  Father  and  Son. — The 
eternal  generation. — Proof  from  the  second  Psalm,  gg  3,  4.  From  Proverbs  viii.  22-31. 
$  5.  From  Proverbs  xxx.  3,  4,  and  Micah  v.  2.  §  6.  From  the  gospels,  g  7.  From  the 
epistles.  §  8.  Other  arguments.  £  9.  Objections  met.  §  10.  General  considerations. 
$  11.  The  Scripture  argument  summed  up.  $  12.  The  doctrine  respecting  the  Father, 
Son,  and  Spirit,  severally,  and  as  one. 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE    ETERNAL   PLAN. — P.  82. 

#  1.  In  working,  wisdom  requires  an  object.  §  2.  God's  object  was  the  revelation  of 
himself,  the  Triune  God.  §  3.  To  that  end,  an  eternal  plan.  $  4.  It  includes  the 
minutest  details.  §  5.  The  angels  and  the  material  universe. — In  it  God  shines.  $  6. 
His  moral  glories  revealed  in  man,  Christ,  and  the  work  of  redemption,  g  7.  Earth  its 
theatre.     §  8.  The  revelation  progressive  and  cumulative. 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE    PROVIDENTIAL   ADMINISTRATION. — P.  100. 

§  1.  Different  theories  of  second  causes.  $  2.  Our  doctrine.  g  3.  Edwards'  theory. 
$  4.  His  doctrine  of  identity.  §  5.  His  doctrine  unscriptural.  $  6.  Office  of  the  sys- 
tem of  nature.  §  7.  God's  immediate  agency. — McCosh's  theory.  j?  8.  Miracles  and 
special  providences.  $  9.  General  principles  of  administration.  #  10.  Modo  of  dis- 
pensation.    £  11.  Conclusion. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

ADAM   THE    LIKENESS    OF   GOD. — P.  132. 
$  1.  Adam  the  image  and  likeness.     $  2.  His  body  immortal.     $  3.  Likeness  in  his 
generative  nature.     §  4.  Proof  that  this  was  designed.     $  5.  Wonderful  nature  of  gene- 
ration.    I  6.  "  Nature"  defined,     §  7.  The  breath  of  life,  the  Spirit's  image.     §  8.  Tho 

7 


8  Contents. 

natural  attributes  of  his  soul.  §  9.  His  moral  powers. — Reason. — Conscience.  §  10.  The 
Will.  §  11.  Nature  of  motives.  \  12.  Freedom  of  the  will.  §13.  Definitions  of  liberty  : 
Edwards,  Leibnitz,  and  Aristotle.  §  14.  Adam's  knowledge.  §  15.  Proof  of  it  from 
the  use  of  language.  §  16.  His  righteousness  and  holiness,  g  17.  His  dominion. 
Recapitulation. 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE   LAW   OF   GOD. P.  187. 

§  1.  God  our  sovereign.  §  2.  Hopkinsian  theory.  §  3.  Beecher's  Conflict  of  Ages. 
§  4.  He  sets  fate  above  God.  §  5.  The  doctrine  infidel.  §  6.  Office  of  intuition,  g  7. 
Doctrine  of  the  Scriptures.  §  8.  May  the  creatures  sit  in  judgment  on  God  ?  §9. 
Beecher's  experiment.  §  10.  The  doctrine  precludes  a  revelation  of  God.  £  11.  Nature 
and  necessity  of  God's  sovereignty.  §  12.  The  law  is,  Glorify  God.  §  13.  It  demands 
perfect  obedience,  of  the  whole  being,  perpetually.  §  14.  It  binds  all.  §  15.  Adapts 
itself  to  all  cases.     §  16.  Office  of  the  written  law. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   PRINCIPLE    OF   THE   LAW. P.  228. 

\  1.  God's  moral  attributes,  g  2.  He  glories  in  them.  §  3.  Their  nature  and  evi- 
dence. §  4.  Design  of  their  revelation.  §  5.  The  principle  thus  deduced.  §  6.  The 
perfection  of  the  law  consists  in  its  transcription  from  the  moral  nature  of  God. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   NATURE    OF    SIN. — P.  243. 
§  1.  Sin  is  unlawfulness.     §  2.  Phenomena  of  moral  natures.     £  3.  Moral  obligation. 
— Its  subject  the  nature.     §  4.  The  law  addresses  the  nature.     \  5.  Edwards'  doctrine 
of  the  nature  of  sin.     §  6.  Sin  of  nature.     \  7.  Results  of  our  inquiry.     §  8.  Barnes' 
doctrine. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

DEATH,  THE   PENALTY   OF   THE   LAW. — P.  263. 
g  1.  Sanctions  necessary.     §  2.  Nature  of  a  penalty.     §  3.  Death,  not  metaphorical, 
j}  4.  Its  use  illustrated  in  Abel's  death.     §  5.  It  is  not  bodily  dissolution.     §  6.  It  is 
God's  inflicted  curse. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE    LAW   A    COVENANT    OF   LIFE. — P.  2S0. 

j)  1.  The  covenant  gratuitous  from  God.  §  2.  The  promise,  its  symbols  and  seals. 
§  3.  Date  of  the  promise,  g  4.  The  trees  of  life  and  knowledge.  §  5.  The  promise 
was  a  covenant,     g  6.  Positive  constitution  of  the  covenant.     §  7.  The  life  promised. 

CHAPTER  X. 

ADAM    THE    COVENANT    HEAD    OF   THE   RACE. — P.  305. 
§  1.  Proof  of  Adam's  headship.     §  2.  The  cause  of  it,  the  inscription  of  the  covenant 
in  his  propagative  nature.     §3.  Proofs  of  the  doctrine.     §4.  Other  scriptural  examples. 
§  5.  Principle  of  identity.     §  6.  The  idea  of  a  "  constituted"  representation  untenable, 
g  7.  The  principle  of  representation,     g  8.  Eve  part  of  the  representative  head. 


Contents.  9 

CHAPTER  XI. 

EXTENT  OF  ADAM'S  PARENTAL  RELATION. — ORIGIN  OF  THE 
SOUL. — P.  335. 
g  1.  History  of  doctrine  on  the  subject.  g  2.  Philosophical  arguments  against  propa- 
gation, g  3.  These  answered.  g  4.  Scripture  argument  against  it  considered,  g  5. 
Affirmative  argument  gratuitous.  g  6.  Seth's  birth,  g  7.  Other  Scripture  proofs,  g  8. 
The  proper  position  of  philosophy  in  relation  to  theology,  g  9.  Creationism  involves  a 
duality  in  man.  g  10.  Relation  to  Christ's  humanity,  g  11.  It  is  inconsistent  with 
the  doctrine  of  miracles.  g  12.  And  with  the  certainty  of  the  relation  of  cause  and 
effect.  g  13.  Difficulty  on  original  sin.  g  14.  Creation  theory  on  the  subject.  g  15. 
Recapitulation. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   APOSTASY   OF   ADAM. — P.  385. 
g  1.  We  know  not  how  sin  could  enter  a  holy  being. — But  it  was  by  his  free  will, 
g  2.  Process  of  the  apostasy.     g  3.  Its  moral  enormity.     g  4.  It  was  the  depravation 
of  the  race. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   PERMISSION    OF    MORAL   EVIL. — P.  397. 
g  1.  Phases  of  optimism,      g  2.  New  Haven  theory,  that  God  could  not  prevent  sin. 
g  3.  Fallacy  of  optimism. — It  degrades  God.     g  4.   God  can,  but  chooses  not  to  prevent 
sin ;  and  by  occasion  of  it  reveals  his  highest  moral  glories. 

CHAPTER  XIY. 
Paul's  discussion  of  original  sin. — p.  410. 

g  1.  General  view  of  tbe  epistle  to  the  Romans.  gg  2,  3.  Exegesis  of  ch.  v.  12. 
g  4.  Verses  13,  14.  g  5.  Verses  15-17.  g  6.  Verses  18,  19.  g  7.  Verses  20,  21.  g  8. 
Doctrine  of  the  apostle,  g  9.  Iubeing  in  Adam  and  in  Christ,  g  10.  Dr.  Hodge  on  the 
word,  sin.  g  11.  "Regarded  and  treated."  g  12.  Christ  "made  sin."  g  13.  Bearing 
of  Dr.  H.'s  view  upon  the  scope  of  the  apostle,  g  14.  Parallel  of  Adam  and  Christ, 
g  15.  Camplacency  in  Christ*s  righteousness,  g  16.  Relation  of  this  theory  to  the  fall. 
g  17.  Romans,  chapter  vi.  g  18.  Chapter  vii.  g  19.  The  doctrine. — Sin  an  indwelling 
power,     g  20.  Its  origin  in  Adam. 

CHAPTER  XV. 
definition  of  guilt  and  of  IMPUTATION. — P.  461. 
g  1.  Guilt  is  criminal  liability,     g  2.  Definitions  of  Calvin,  Marck,  Van  Mastricht,  anil 
Rutherford,     g  3.  Analysis  of  these,     g  4.  Usage  of  the  Westminster  standards,     g  5. 
Imputation  defined. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

the  guilt  of  adam's  first  sin. — p.  474. 

g  1.  Doctrine  of  imputation,  g  2.  Edwards  on  imputation,  g  3.  Arminian  theory, 
g  4.  It  is  untenable,  g  5.  Use  of  the  word,  sin.  g  6.  Sinners  only  punished,  g  7. 
Punishment  without  crime,  g  8.  Law  of  identity,  g  9.  Contrition  due  for  the  apostasy. 
g  10.  Sense  of  personal  responsibility,  g  11.  Our  doctrine  opposed  to  mediate  imputa- 
tion,    g  12.  Adam's  transgression,  and  the  sins  of  our  immediate  parents. 


10  Contents. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

NATIVE   DEPRAVITY. — P.  510. 
§  1.  Pelagian  and  Socinian  admissions.     §  2.  Facts  of  the  case.     £  3.  Physical  cor- 
ruption.    $  4.  Dr.  Stuart's  "  innocent  susceptibilities."     §  5.  Elements  of  depravity. — 
Want  of  righteousness,  and  actual  depravity.     §  6.  Testimony  of  the  Scriptures.     §  7. 
Total  inability.     £8.  "  Natural  ability."     §9.  The  crime  one.     \  10.  Conclusion. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

PROPAGATION    OP   ORIGINAL   SIN. — P.  529. 
§  1.  The  doctrine.     §  2.  Sin  sometimes  penally  admitted,  but  never  originated,  by 
God.     \  3.  Edwards'  doctrine.     §  4.  Penal  privation  theory.     §  5.  Conclusion. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  ETERNAL  COVENANT. — P.  545. 
£  1.  The  curse  on  man  is  stayed.  §  2.  History  of  the  promise.  §  3.  The  covenant 
with  David.  §  4.  The  eternal  covenant.  $  5.  The  Parties  and  terms.  £  6.  The  Holy 
Spirit  the  Witness.  §  7.  It  was  a  real  covenant.  §  8.  Its  date  eternity.  £  9.  Its 
beneficiaries  the  elect.  £  10.  Its  seal  the  oath  of  God.  §11.  It  ordained  the  Son  to 
be  the  Revealer  of  God.     §  12.  In  its  purview  are  comprehended  all  things  and  events. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

THE    SECOND   ADAM. P.  578. 

§  1.  Christ  was  truly  a  man.  §  2.  The  Mediator  must  be  a  man.  §  3.  Scripture 
testimony.  §  4.  He  was  without  sin.  §  5.  He  is  God.  §  6.  The  church  his  body. — 
Scripture  testimony.     £  7.  Nature  of  the  union.     §  8.  Thus  in  him  all  fulness  dwells. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Christ's  obedience  to  the  law. — P.  605. 

§  1.  Christ's  obedience  voluntary.  <?  2.  How  he  came  under  the  curse.  §  3.  He 
satisfied  for  his  members.  §  4.  He  obeyed  the  precept.  §  5.  He  bore  the  curse.  §  6. 
Mr.  Barnes'  doctrine.  §  7.  Christ  bore  the  very  penalty.  §  8.  Particulars  of  his  hu- 
miliation.   §  9.  His  conflicts  with  Satan,    g  10.  His  last  sufferings.    §  11.  "  It  is  finished." 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE   LAST   ADAM   A   QUICKENING    SPIRIT. — P.  638. 
§  1.  Effectual  calling.     §  2.  The  new  birth.     §  3.  Justification.     §  4.  Adoption.     §  5. 
Communion  with  God.     §  6.  Sanctification.     <J  7.  The  resurrection.     §  8.  The  church 
Christ's  body.     §  9.  It  is  his  witness.     §  10.  Its  history  and  inheritance. 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Christ's  kingdom  and  glory. — p.  665. 

§  1.  Recapitulation  of  the  past.  §  2.  Messiah's  kingdom.  \  3.  Its  coming  will  be 
sudden.  §  4.  All  flesh  will  be  holy.  §  5.  Its  duration  will  be  long.  §  6.  Satan's  last 
struggle.  §  7.  The  last  judgment.  §  8.  The  kingdom  delivered  up  to  the  Father. 
{J  9.  The  New  Jerusalem. 


INTRODUCTION. 

HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  ORIGINAL  SIN. 


I  1. 

The  Church  of  God  has  been  called  to  engage  in  a  continual  conflict, 
not  only  with  external  enemies,  but,  much  more,  with  corruptions  and 
heresies  within  her  own  bosom.  The  whole  scheme  of  grace  was  devised 
for  the  purpose  of  revealing  to  the  creatures  the  truth  concerning  the 
nature  and  perfections  of  God  ;  and  it  is  carried  on  through  a  testimony 
thereto.  The  principal  exertions,  therefore,  of  the  father  of  lies  havo 
always  been  directed  to  the  object  of  silencing  or  corrupting  the  church, 
— which  is  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth, — so  as  to  prevent  her  testi- 
mony to  that  doctrine  which  is  according  to  godliness,  by  the  instru- 
mentality of  which  his  sceptre  is  broken  and  his  slaves  set  free.  At  the 
same  time,  the  King  of  Zion,  who  is  Head  over  all  things  to  the  church, 
has  permitted  and  overruled  these  machinations  of  the  Serpent,  so  as  to 
induce  among  his  own  people  a  clearer  apprehension,  and  more  affec- 
tionate embrace,  of  the  truth.  As  often  as  the  spirit  of  error  has  come 
in,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  has  lifted  up  a  standard  against  it.  All  needful 
truth  was,  from  the  beginning,  deposited  in  the  sacred  oracles.  But 
much  of  the  testimony  therein  contained  has  always  lain  unappre- 
hended, until  the  oppositions  of  false  science  have  brought  it  into  ques- 
tion. Then  has  been  fulfilled  the  promise  of  our  Saviour : — "  When  he, 
the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into  all  truth." — John  xvi. 
13.  Thus,  from  age  to  age,  has  the  doctrine  of  God  been  gradually  un- 
folded in  clearer  light,  and  comprehended  in  a  growing  fulness  by  the 
true  Israel  of  God. 

Of  this  mode  of  the  divine  economy,  the  history  of  the  doctrine  of 
Original  Sin  presents  an  interesting  example.  The  essential  principles 
of  this  doctrine  were  indeed  held  from  the  beginning;  but  their  precise 
significance,  relations  and  boundaries,  in  the  system  of  truth,  have  only 
been  recognised  and  defined  by  a  gradual  process,  through  many  conflicts 
with  grievous  heresies. 

11 


12  Introduction. 

\  2.  Doctrine  of  Tcrtullian. 

The  earliest  post-apostolic  exposition  of  the  doctrine  of  our  relation 
to  the  sin  of  Adam  occurs  in  the  works  of  Tertullian.  This  writer, 
having  attained  to  a  great  age,  died  about  the  year  220 ;  so  that  his 
career  must  have  commenced  within  some  fifty  years  of  the  death  of 
the  ajDOstle  John.  He  was  one  of  the  most  learned  and  excellent  of  the 
Fathers,  against  whom  the  impeachment  of  Montanism  seems  merely  to 
indicate  the  zeal  with  which  he  maintained  a  protest  in  behalf  of 
spiritual  religion,  in  opposition  to  a  lifeless  formalism,  a  reliance  on 
outward  rites  and  relations, — that  mystery  of  iniquity,  which  already 
wrought  with  great  vigour,  in  his  time.  Whatever  weight,  however,  may 
be  given  by  any  one  to  the  imputation  here  alluded  to,  it  is  entitled  to 
no  consideration  as  affecting  his  competence  to  testify  as  to  the  orthodox 
doctrine  of  original  sin.  The  writings  from  which  we  make  the  following 
quotations  are  of  a  date  prior  to  the  time  of  his  supposed  defection  to 
the  party  of  Montanus,  and  hold  no  special  relation  to  the  peculiarities 
of  that  party.  In  fact,  so  highly  were  these  writings  esteemed,  that 
Cyprian,  the  eminent  bishop  of  Carthage,  was  accustomed  to  read  a 
portion  of  them  daily,  and  never  designated  him  by  any  other  title 
than  that  of  "  the  master."  "His  diction,  and  his  spirit  too,  it  has  been 
supposed,  were  extensively  propagated  in  the  Latin  church."* 

The  doctrine  of  original  sin  which  is  found  in  the  writings  of  Tertullian 
is  briefly  this.  Adam  was  created  at  first  in  the  image  of  God,  subject  to 
the  law,  and  with  liberty  of  will,  and  power  to  keep  it  or  to  transgress. 
The  divine  image,  in  which  he  was  made,  consisted  in  the  endowments  of 
his  soul,  chief  among  which  was  his  freedom  of  will.  In  his  person 
was  embodied  the  nature  of  the  entire  race ;  he  was  the  fountain  of  the 
existence  of  all  his  offspring,  who  derive  from  him  the  being  alike  of  body 
and  soul ;  both  of  which  flow  from  him  by  generation,  and  with  which 
they  derive  a  part  in  his  nature.  As  thus  constituted,  Adam,  and  in 
him  the  race,  transgressed  the  law,  and  came  under  the  curse  of  God. 
The  transgression  consisted,  formally,  in  plucking  the  forbidden  fruit ; 
essentially,  in  setting  his  will  in  opposition  to  the  will  of  God.  The 
result  of  the  transgression  is,  the  subjection  of  the  nature  of  man  to  a 
power  which  is  alien  from  God, — the  enslaving  of  his  powers  to  the  god 
of  this  world.  The  consequence  is,  that  the  nature,  thus  depraved,  is 
prone  only  to  evil ;  and  it  is  therefore  impossible  that  the  corrupted 
tree  should  bear  good  fruit.  The  apostate  heart  cannot  produce  the 
works  of  holiness.  But  that  which  is  impossible  to  man  is  possible  with 
God,  who  can  even  of  stones  raise  up  children  unto  Abraham. 

Appropriating  the  name,  spirit,  to  God  alone,  and  designating  the  soul 
of  man  as  an  afflatus  from  God,  Tertullian  says  of  man's  original  estate, 

*  Murdock's  Mosheim,  vol.  i.  p.  122,  note. 


Historical  /Sketch.  13 

"The  image  cannot  in  all  respects  equal  the  reality.  For  it  is  one  thing 
to  be  like  the  reality ;  another,  to  be  the  very  reality.  So,  also,  the  afflatus, 
since  it  is  but  the  image  of  the  Spirit,  cannot  present  such  a  likeness  of 
God,  that  inasmuch  as  the  original,  that  is,  the  Spirit  which  is  God,  is 
without  sin,  therefore  the  image,  the  afflatus,  must  be  held  incapable  of 
sin.  In  this,  the  image  is  inferior  to  the  original, — the  afflatus  less  ex- 
cellent than  the  Spirit;  yet  having  the  very  lineaments  of  God,  inas- 
much as  the  soul  was  immortal ;  as  it  was  free,  and  subject  to  its  own 
will ;  as  it  was  prescient  of  many  things,  rational,  and  capable  of  appre- 
hension and  knowledge.  Nevertheless,  in  these  things  it  was  but  an 
image,  and  not  endowed  with  the  very  energy  of  divinity.  So  neither 
was  it  beyond  the  reach  of  apostasy;  because  this  is  peculiar  to  God,  the 
original ;  and  not  characteristic  of  the  image."*  "  I  find  man  created 
by  God,  free,  and  subject  to  his  own  will  and  power ;  and  perceive  in  him 
no  nearer  image  and  likeness  of  God,  than  the  structure  of  this  consti- 
tution. For  in  features  and  corporeal  lineaments,  which  are  so  various 
in  the  human  race,  he  does  not  exhibit  a  representation  of  God,  whose 
likeness  is  one;  but  in  that  substance  which  he  derived  from  God  him- 
self, that  is,  his  soul,  conformed  to  the  image  of  God,  and  enstamped  with 
liberty  and  power  of  his  own  will.  This  state  of  liberty  was  confirmed 
by  the  very  law  which  was  given  him  by  God.  For  a  law  would  not  have 
been  set  before  one  who  had  not  in  himself  power  to  render  the  obedience 
which  the  law  required.  Nor  would  death  have  been  threatened  against 
transgression,  if  disregard  of  the  law  had  not  been  predicable  of  the 
liberty  of  man's  will."f  "Man  would  have  been  good,  if  he  had  acted 
in  conformity,  indeed,  with  the  will  of  God,  but  by  the  exercise  of  his 
own  will,  as  flowing  from  the  disposition  of  his  nature.  On  the  contrary, 
he  would  more  clearly  appear  to  be  evil,  (for  this  also  God  anticipated,) 
by  virtue  of  his  being  free,  and  under  his  own  power.  And  but  for  this 
provision,  as  he  would  not  have  embraced  that  which  is  right,  voluntarily, 
but  of  necessity,  so  also  he  would  have  been  subject  to  be  overcome  of 
evil,  by  reason  of  the  infirmity  of  his  servile  condition  ;  being  alike  a 
slave,  whether  to  good  or  evil.  Entire  liberty  of  will  was  therefore  given 
to  him,  in  respect  both  to  good  and  evil ;  that  he  might  always  be  his 
own  master  ;  alike  spontaneously  doing  the  right  and  avoiding  the  wrong. 
And  since  man  was  responsible  to  the  bar  of  God,  it  behooved  that  he 
should  work  righteousness  by  the  rectitude  of  his  will,  to  wit,  freely. 
Further,  neither  the  rewards  of  good  nor  evil  deeds  may  be  assigned  to 
him  who  is  found  to  have  been  good  or  evil  not  voluntarily,  but  of  ne- 
cessity. To  this  end  also  the  law  was  ordained;  not  precluding  but 
proving  liberty,  by  obedience  spontaneously  rendered,  or  transgression 
spontaneously  wrought.  Thus,  in  any  event  the  liberty  of  the  will  is 
manifested. "J 

*  Tertullianus  adv.  Marcionem,  lib.  ii.  9.  t  lbid-  5-  t  Ibkl-  2> 


14  Introduction. 

In  respect  to  the  relation  of  the  will  of  God  to  the  apostasy,  Tertullian 
urges,  that  "it  will  justify  every  crime  to  assert  nothing  to  happen  with- 
out the  approval  of  God.  And  the  statement  leads  to  the  destruction 
of  all  morality,  even  that  of  God  himself, — that  any  thing  which  he  does 
not  approve  may  be  brought  to  pass  by  his  will,  or  that  nothing  occurs 
which  he  does  not  approve.  For  since  he  forbids  certain  things,  and 
threatens  them  with  eternal  punishment,  he  certainly  does  not  will  what 
he  thus  denounces,  and  with  which  he  is  offended.  On  the  contrary, 
what  he  wills,  he  both  commands,  and  treats  with  acceptance,  and  dis- 
tinguishes with  eternal  blessedness.  Whilst,  therefore,  we  learn  from 
his  precepts,  what  he  approves  and  condemns ;  the  will  and  power  of 
choosing  the  one  or  the  other,  belong  to  us ;  as  it  is  written,  '  Behold,  I 
have  set  before  thee  good  and  evil/  for  thou  hast  tasted  of  the  tree  of 
knowledge.  .  .  .  Moreover,  if  you  ask,  whence  is  that  will  by  which  we 
choose  that  which  is  opposed  to  the  will  of  God ;  I  answer,  From  our- 
selves. Nor  do  I  speak  lightly,  (semini  enim  tuo  respondeas  necesse  est,) 
for  you  must  answer  for  the  blood  which  you  inherit;  since  he,  (princeps 
generis  et  delicti,)  the  author  both  of  the  race  and  of  the  apostasy,  Adam, 
chose  the  transgression  which  he  committed.  Nor  did  the  devil  infuse 
into  him  the  will  to  sin ;  but  only  furnished  occasion  for  the  action  of 
his  own  will."* 

Of  the  apostasy,  he  says  that  "brutish  man,  not  receiving  the  things 
of  the  Spirit,  accounted  the  law  of  God  foolishness,  and  transgressed  it. 
Wherefore,  not  having  faith,  even  that  which  he  seemed  to  have  was 
taken  from  him ;  to  wit,  the  possession  of  the  garden,  and  communion 
with  God,  through  which  he  would  have  known  all  the  things  of  God, 
had  he  continued  in  obedience.  What  wonder,  therefore,  if — his  works 
being  returned  upon  himself,  and  he  (in  ergastulum  terras  laborandee 
relegatus)  confined  in  the  bonds  of  earthly  toil,  and  by  his  own  deed 
debased  and  bowed  down  to  the  dust — he  has  thence  transmitted  to  his 
entire  race  the  common  spirit  of  the  world,  altogether  carnal  and  here- 
tical, not  receiving  the  things  of  God  ?  For  who  will  hesitate  to  desig- 
nate as  heresy  the  crime  which  Adam  committed,  by  following  the  bent 
of  his  own  choice,  rather  than  the  mind  of  God?"f 

In  the  doctrine  thus  stated  by  Tertullian,  and  his  kindred  theory  as 
to  the  origin  of  the  soul,  he  seems  truly  to  represent  the  theology  of  his 
age.  We  are  aware  that  it  is  sometimes  asserted  that  his  doctrine  was 
peculiar  to  himself,  and  not  commonly  held  by  the  orthodox  of  his  time. 
But  we  have  failed  to  find  a  trace  of  evidence  in  support  of  the  assertion. 
In  his  discussions,  he  assumes  the  position  of  an  expounder  and  de- 
fender of  the  common  faith  on  the  subject,  against  the  theories  of  philo- 
sophers and  naturalists.J     He  opposes  the  doctrine  of  Plato,  as  affording 

*  Tcrtul.  De  Exhort.  Cast.  £2.  j-  Ibid.  2.  %  Tertul.  De  Anima,  3,  4. 


Histwical  Slcetch.  15 

nourishment  to  every  class  of  heretics,*  and  in  all  his  discussions  assumes 
the  acquiescence  of  all  Christians.  Proposing  to  prove  the  generative 
origin  of  the  soul,  he  says  that  it  is  immaterial  from  what  quarter  the 
question  arises,  "whether  from  philosophers,  heretics,  or  the  ignorant 
populace.  It  is  of  no  importance,  to  the  professors  of  the  truth,  who  its 
enemies  are,  especially  since,  with  such  audacity,  they  deny  the  soul  to 
be  conceived  in  the  womb,  and  assert  it  to  be  inserted  from  without  into 
the  body  at  the  instant  of  birth."  Entering  upon  the  argument, — after 
a  few  sentences  addressed  to  the  Platonic  philosophers,  he  turns  to  his 
brethren: — "I  will  pause  in  the  argument,  that  what  I  answer  to  philo- 
sophers and  naturalists  I  may  prove  to  the  Christian.  For  yourself,  my 
brother,  build  your  faith  upon  the  foundation,"  &c.  He  sketches  a  rapid 
argument  from  the  Scriptures,  from  which  he  derives  the  result  that 
"from  one  man  have  flowed  the  souls  of  all,  nature  obeying  the  original 
decree,  'Be  fruitful,  and  multiply;'  for,  in  the  very  preface  to  the  creation 
of  the  first  man,  his  entire  posterity  is  spoken  of  in  the  plural: — 'Let  us 
make  man,  and  let  them  have  dominion.'  "f  He  then  returns  to  the  doc- 
trines of  the  various  schools  of  Greek  philosophy,  and  engages  in  an  ex- 
tended discussion,  at  the  close  of  which  he  concludes,  that,  "in  view  of 
the  ambitious  theories  of  philosophers  and  heretics,  and  the  stupid  doc- 
trine of  Plato,  we  have  proved  the  soul  to  be  generated  in  and  of  man 
himself,  and  that  there  was,  from  the  beginning,  one  seed  of  it,  as  also 
of  the  flesh  of  the  whole  race. "J  There  seems  to  be  no  reason  to  doubt 
that  this  was  the  common  doctrine  of  the  church  in  that  age. 

Of  the  depravity  resulting  from  the  apostasy,  Tertullian  says  that  "evil 
has  possession  of  the  soul,  from  the  vice  of  origin,  derived  by  nature,  be- 
side that  which  results  from  the  entrance  of  the  spirit  of  evil.  For,  as 
we  may  say,  corruption  of  nature  is  another  nature,  having  its  own  god 
and  father,  the  author  of  the  corruption  himself;  yet  so  that  there  still 
remains  good  in  the  soul, — that  original,  divine  and  legitimate  good 
which  belongs  to  its  very  nature.  For  that  which  is  from  God  is  not  so 
much  extinguished  as  obscured;  for  it  can  be  obscured,  since  it  is  not 
God,  but  it  cannot  be  extinguished,  because  it  is  from  God.  Hence,  as 
light,  intercepted  by  any  obstacle,  remains,  although  invisible,  if  the 
intervening  substance  be  sufficiently  dense, — so  also  the  good  which  is  in 
the  soul,  overborne  by  evil,  by  virtue  of  its  nature,  is  either  wholly  in- 
active, its  light  being  hidden,  or,  finding  liberty,  shines  where  it  may. 
Thus,  there  are  the  vile  and  the  holy ;  but  yet  the  souls  are  all  of  one 
race.  So,  too,  in  the  worst  there  is  some  good,  and  in  the  best  some  evil; 
for  God  only  is  without  sin,  and  Christ  is  the  only  sinless  man,  because 
he  is  also  God.  .  .  .  Therefore,  when  a  renewed  soul  acquires  faith,  by 
the  new  birth  of  water  and  the  power  of  God,  the  veil  of  his  former  cor- 
ruption being  removed,  he  sheds  abroad  all  his  light.     He  is  al.so  per- 

»  De  Anima,  23,  25.  |  Ibid-  25~27-  t  Ibid>  36' 


16  Introduction. 

vaded  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  as,  from  his  former  nativity,  by  a  profane 
spirit."* 

$  3.  Hilary  of  Poictiers,  and  Ambrose  of  Milan. 

Hilary  became  bishop  of  Poictiers,  in  France,  about  the  year  350.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  the  age,  and  stood  conspicuous  in 
his  labours  against  Arian  heresy.  In  his  works  the  doctrine  of  the  apos- 
tasy is  identical  with  that  of  Tertullian.  In  his  commentary  upon  Mat- 
thew xviii.  12  he  says,  "By  the  one  sheep,  man  is  to  be  understood,  and 
(sub  homine  uno,  universitas  sentienda  est)  under  the  figure  of  one  man 
is  to  be  recognised  the  whole  human  species ;  for  in  the  apostasy  of  the 
one  Adam  the  entire  race  of  man  apostatized. "f  Allegorizing  our 
Saviour's  parable  of  the  divided  house,  (Matt.  x.  34  and  Luke  xii.  52,)  he 
says,  "Here,  therefore,  are  five  dwelling  in  one  house,  divided  three 
against  two  and  two  against  three.  But  we  only  find  in  man  three ;  that 
is,  body,  soul  and  will.  For  as  the  soul  is  given  to  the  body,  so  also  the 
power  is  given  to  each  of  employing  itself  as  it  will.  .  .  .  But,  from  the 
sin  and  unbelief  of  our  first  parents  to  subsequent  generations,  sin  began 
to  be  the  father  of  our  bodies,  and  unbelief  the  mother  of  our  souls ;  for 
from  these,  through  the  transgression  of  our  first  parents,  we  receive  our 
origin.  But  the  will  is  present  to  all.  Therefore,  now  in  one  house  there 
are  five:  sin,  the  father  of  the  body,  unbelief,  the  mother  of  the  soul,  and 
the  authority  of  the  will,  which  binds  the  whole  man  to  itself  by  a  kind 
of  conjugal  right."  J 

Similar  is  the  doctrine  of  Ambrose,  bishop  of  Milan  from  374  to  397 : — 
"  He,  the  first  sinner  of  our  race,  (and,  oh  that  he  had  been  the  only  one!) 
before  he  had  sinned,  did  not  perceive  himself  to  be  naked,  but  after  he 
had  sinned  he  saw  himself  to  be  so ;  and  therefore  thought  to  cover  him- 
self with  fig-leaves,  because  he  found  himself  to  be  naked.  He  therefore 
made  himself  naked  when  he  made  himself  guilty  of  crime.  In  him 
the  whole  human  condition  (omnis  humana  conditio),  was  made  bare, — 
obnoxious,  by  succession  of  nature,  not  only  to  crime,  but  also  to 
misery. "$  Again, — "Our  David  confesses  himself  to  have  sinned,  not 
in  himself  alone,  but  in  the  first  man,  when,  the  divine  command  was 
transgressed.  .  .  .  Truly,  we  all  have  sinned  in  the  first  man,  and, 
through  the  succession  of  nature,  the  succession  of  crime  also  is  trans- 
fused from  the  one  into  all.  Against  whom,  then,  have  I  sinned?  Against 
the  Father,  or  the  Son?  Truly,  against  him  to  whom  I  was  under 
obligation  for  that  which  I  sinned  in  not  fulfilling.  The  command  is 
given  to  man  that  he  should  eat  of  all  that  was  in  the  garden,  but 
should  not  touch  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil.     Adam 

*  De  Anima,  41. 

f  S.  Ilil.  Opera.  Comnicntarius  in  Matt.  Can.  xviii.  ed.  Parisii  1631,  fol.  554. 

t  Ibid.  Can.  x.  fol.  513. 

'i  Apologia  David,  posterior,  cap.  viii.  Op.  Amb.  Lut.  Par.,  1661,  torn.  i.  fol.  512. 


Historical  Sketch.  17 

is  in  each  of  us.  In  him.  the  human  condition  fell,  hecause  sin  has 
passed  through  the  one  into  all.  I  see  the  sum  of  my  debt.  I  see  what 
an  amount  of  crime  I  have  contracted,  whilst  I  taste  the  forbidden  ami 
interdicted  fruit.  I  owe  compensation  for  the  crime  which  I  have  done, 
since  the  obligation  due  to  heavenly  authority  could  not  preserve  an 
untarnished  faith."*  Again,  in  his  commentary  on  Romans  v.  12,  Am- 
brose says,  "  It  is  manifest  that  in  Adam,  as  in  mass,  all  sinned.  For  he, 
being  corrupt  through  sin,  begat  all  his  offspring  under  sin.  By  him, 
therefore,  we  all  are  sinners,  because  we  all  are  of  him."f 

§  4.  Doctrine  of  Pelagius  and  his  associates. 

The  Platonic  theory  of  Origen,  as  to  the  pre-existence  of  the  souls  of 
men,  and  their  several  apostasy  and  fall  in  that  pre-existent  state,  con- 
stituted a  signal  departure  from  the  accepted  doctrine  of  the  church  on 
the  subject  of  original  sin,  and  prepared  the  way  for  subsequent  errors. 
But  it  was  not  until  a  century  and  a  half  after  his  death  that  the  opinions 
adopted  by  Pelagius  and  his  associates,  Celestius  and  Julian,  and  dis- 
seminated by  them  with  great  zeal,  gave  occasion  to  that  controversy 
which  resulted  in  the  more  full  exposition  and  defence  of  the  scriptural 
doctrine  on  the.  subject.  The  Pelagian  system  is  stated,  with  sufficient 
accuracy  for  our  purpose,  by  Dr.  Wiggers,  himself  an  apologist  for  those 
whose  doctrine  he  exhibits,  in  the  following  propositions: — 

"  1.  A  propagation  of  sin  by  generation  is  by  no  means  to  be  admitted. 
This  physical  propagation  of  sin  can  be  admitted  only  when  we  grant 
the  propagation  of  the  soul  by  generation.  But  this  is  a  heretical  error. 
Consequently,  there  is  no  original  sin  ;  and  nothing  in  the  moral  nature 
of  man  has  been  corrupted  by  Adam's  sin. 

"Besides  the  passages  already  quoted,  the  following  may  suffice  as 
proof  that  this  was  a  Pelagian  tenet.  In  his  commentary  on  Romans 
vii.  8,  Pelagius  remarks: — 'They  are  insane  who  teach  that  the  sin  of 
Adam  comes  to  us  (per  traducein)  by  propagation.'  In  another  passage, 
(which,  indeed,  is  not  now  to  be  found  in  that  very  interpolated  work, 
— but  which  Augustine  quotes  from  it,  verbatim, — De  Pec.  Mer.  iii.  3,) 
Pelagius  says,  'The  soul  does  not  come  by  propagation,  but  only  the 
flesh;  and  so,  this  only  has  the  propagated  sin,  and  this  only  deserves 
punishment.  But  it  is  unjust  that  the  soul  born  to-day,  that  has  not  conic 
from  the  substance  of  Adam,  should  bear  so  old  and  extrinsic  a  sin.' 
And  the  Pelagians  discarded  the  propagation  of  souls  by  generation, — 
which  seemed  to  lead  to  materialism, — and  assumed  that  every  soul  is 
created  immediately  by  God.  In  Pelagius'  confession  of  faith,  it  is  said, 
'We  believe  that  souls  are  given  by  God  ;  and  say  that  they  are  made 
by  himself.'  .  .  . 

*  Apologia  David,  posterior,  cap.  xii.  fol.  519.  f  Opera,  torn.  iii.  fol.  269. 

2 


18  Introduction. 

"2.  Adam's  transgression  was  imputed  to  himself,  but  not  to  his  pos- 
terity. A  reckoning  of  Adam's  sin  as  that  of  his  posterity  would  con- 
flict with  the  divine  rectitude.  Hence,  bodily  death  is  no  punishment 
of  Adam's  imputed  sin,  but  a  necessity  of  nature. 

"From  the  commentary  of  Pelagius  on  Romans,  Augustine  quotes  his 
words  thus,  (De  Pec.  Mer.  iii.  3,)  'It  can  in  no  way  be  conceded  that 
God,  who  pardons  a  man's  own  sins,  may  impute  to  him  the  sins  of 
another.'  In  his  book  '  On  Nature,'  Pelagius  says,  '  How  can  the  sin  be 
imputed,  by  God,  to  the  man,  which  he  has  not  known  as  his  own  ?' — De 
Nat.  et  Gr.  30.  If  God  is  just,  he  can  attribute  no  foreign  blame  to 
infants.  'Children,  so  long  as  they  are  children,  that  is,  before  they  do 
any  thing  by  their  own  will,  cannot  be  punishable  (rei).' — Op.  Imp.  ii. 
42.  '  According  to  the  apostle,  by  one  man  sin  came  into  the  world, 
and  death  by  sin :  because  the  world  has  regarded  him  as  a  criminal,  and 
as  one  condemned  to  perpetual  death.  But  death  has  come  upon  all  men 
because  the  same  sentence  reaches  all  transgressors  of  the  succeeding 
period  ;  yet  neither  holy  men  nor  the  innocent  have  had  to  endure  this 
death,  but  only  such  as  have  imitated  him  by  transgression.' — ii.  66.  .  .  . 

"  3.  Now,  as  sin  itself  has  no  more  passed  over  to  Adam's  posterity 
than  has  the  punishment  of  sin,  so  every  man,  in  respect  to  his  moral 
nature,  is  born  in  just  the  same  state  in  which  Adam  was  created. 

"  Augustine  quotes  (De  Nat.  et  Gr.  21)  from  Pelagius'  book,  a  passage 
in  which  it  is  said,  '  What  do  you  seek  ?  They  [infants]  are  well  for 
whom  you  seek  a  physician.  Not  only  are  Adam's  descendants  no 
weaker  than  he,  but  they  have  even  fulfilled  more  commands,  since  he 
neglected  to  fulfil  so  much  as  one.'  In  the  letter  to  Demetrius,  Pelagius 
depicts  the  prerogatives  of  human  nature,  without  making  any  dis- 
tinction between  Adam's  state  before  the  fall  and  after  it.  Take  only 
the  description  of  conscience  in  the  fourth  chapter.  'A  good  conscience 
itself  decides  respecting  the  goodness  of  human  nature.  Is  it  not  a 
testimony,  which  nature  herself  gives  of  her  goodness,  when  she  shows 
her  displeasure  at  evil  ?  There  is  in  our  heart,  so  to  express  myself,  a 
certain  natural  holiness,  which  keeps  watch,  as  it  were,  in  the  castle  of 
the  soul,  and  judges  of  good  and  evil.'  .  .  . 

"  But  with  this  Pelagian  view  of  the  uncorrupted  state  of  man's  nature, 
the  admission  of  a  moral  corruption  of  men,  in  their  present  condition, 
by  the  continued  habit  of  sinning,  stood  in  no  contradiction.  This  Pe- 
lagius taught  expressly.  According  to  the  eighth  chapter  of  his  letter  to 
Demetrius,  he  explicitly  admits,  that,  by  the  protracted  habit  of  sinning, 
sin  appears  in  a  measure  to  have  gained  a  dominion  over  human  nature, 
and,  consequently,  renders  the  practice  of  virtue  difficult.  'While  na- 
ture was  yet  new,  and  a  long-continued  habit  of  sinning  had  not  spread, 
as  it  were,  a  mist  over  human  reason,  nature  was  left  without  a  [written] 
law;  to  which  the  Lord,  when  it  was  oppressed  by  too  many  vices,  and 


Historical  Sketch.  19 

stained  with  the  mist  of  ignorance,  applied  the  file  of  the  law,  in  order 
that,  by  its  frequent  admonitions,  nature  might  be  cleansed  again  and 
return  to  its  lustre.  And  there  is  no  other  difficulty  of  doing  well  but 
the  long-continued  habit  of  vice,  which  has  contaminated  us  from  youth 
up,  and  corrupted  us  for  many  years,  and  holds  us  afterwards  so  bound 
and  subjugated  to  herself  that  she  seems,  in  a  measure,  to  have  the  force 
of  nature.'  Here  Pelagius  also  mentions  the  bad  education  by  which  we 
are  led  to  evil.  But  this  habit  of  sinning,  however,  affects  only  adults, 
and  that  by  their  own  fault.  According  to  the  Pelagian  theory,  man  is 
born  in  the  same  state,  in  respect  to  his  moral  nature,  in  which  Adam 
was  created  by  God."* 

§  5.  Doctrine  of  Avgustine. 

The  great  antagonist  of  Pelagius  was  Augustine.  In  respect  to  the 
fundamental  doctrine  of  the  Pelagian  system, — on  the  origin  of  the  soul, 
he  seems  never  to  have  assumed  a  decided  position.  He,  however,  con- 
stantly leaned  to  the  doctrine  of  its  generative  origin.  Writing  to  Jerome, 
who  very  strongly  assailed  that  view,  the  bishop  of  Hippo  declares  that, 
"neque  orando,  neque  legendo,  neque  meditando,  neque  ratiocinando," 
neither  by  prayer,  by  reading,  by  meditation,  nor  by  reasoning,  was  he 
able,  upon  the  assumption  of  the  immediate  creation  of  souls,  to  obviate 
the  difficulty  concerning  the  propagation  of  sin.f  In  his  first  book,  De 
Anima  et  ejus  Origine,  after  a  review  of  the  arguments  upon  which  reli- 
ance was  placed  to  establish  the  immediate-creation  theory,  he  exclaims, 
"Let  no  one,  therefore,  imagine  that,  if  the  doctrine  of  the  propagation 
of  souls  be  false,  it  is  to  be  refuted  by  such  arguments ;  or,  if  the  position 
that  they  are  breathed  into  the  bodies  immediately  by  God,  be  true,  that 
it  is  to  be  maintained  by  such  reasoning."! 

In  reference  to  his  correspondence  with  Jerome  on  this  subject,  Augus- 
tine says,  "I  wrote  two  books  to  Jerome,  a  presbyter  of  Bethlehem, — one 
of  them  concerning  the  origin  of  the  soul  of  man.  ...  In  this  I  do  not 
solve  the  question  which  I  propose.  He  responded,  commending  (con- 
sultationem  meam)  my  spirit  of  investigation,  but  declaring  himself 
unable  immediately  to  reply  to  my  inquiries.  So  long  as  he  was  in  the 
body  I  refrained  from  publishing  this  book,  lest  he  might  yet  answer, 
and  it  would  be  better  that  it  be  published  with  his  reply.  But  after  his 
death  I  published  it,  so  that  he  who  reads  it  may  be  admonished  either 
to  abstain  altogether  from  inquiry  as  to  the  mode  in  which  souls  are  given 
to  the  offspring,  or,  on  a  subject  certainly  very  obscure,  to  admit  that 
solution  of  the  question  which  is  consistent  with  the  most  evident  facts 

*  An  Historical  Presentation  of  Augnstinism  and  Pelagianism.  By  Gr.  F.  Wiggers, 
D.D.     Translated  by  Rev.  R.  Emerson:  Andover,  IS  10,  p.  84. 

f  Aug.  E[iist.  xxviii.  ad  Hieron.  %  Aug.  De  Anima  et  ejus  Orig.  lib.  i.  c.  19. 


20  Introduction. 

which  the  catholic  faith  recognises,  respecting  original  sin  in  infants ;  who, 
unless  renewed  in  Christ,  will  assuredly  perish."* 

Perhaps  the  reason  of  his  ambiguity  on  this  subject  had  reference  to 
the  impeachments  of  the  Pelagians,  who  continually  asserted  that  he 
was  still  infected  with  the  Manichean  heresy  of  his  youth  and  cited  this 
doctrine  as  evidence.  On  this  point  he  says,  of  his  six  books  in  reply  to 
Julian,  that  "in  the  first  two,  by  means  of  the  testimonies  of  the  saints, 
who,  after  the  apostles,  have  defended  the  catholic  faith,  the  impudence 
of  Julian  is  repelled,  who  thought  to  object  it  against  us  as  a  Manichean 
dogma,  because  we  assert  original  sin  to  be  derived  from  Adam,  which, 
by  the  washing  of  regeneration,  is  taken  away,  not  only  in  adults,  but  in 
infants  also.  To  what  an  extent  some  of  Julian's  own  sentiments  harmo- 
monize  with  the  Manicheans,  I  showed  in  the  last  part  of  my  first 
book."f 

In  respect  to  the  apostasy  and  original  sin,  the  following  were  the  lead- 
ing points  of  the  doctrine  which  Augustine  vindicated  against  the  Pela- 
gians : — 

1.  The  whole  human  nature  was  created  holy  in  the  person  of  Adam. 

2.  It  was  so  constituted,  in  its  creation,  that  any  act  of  sin  would  bind 
the  nature  which  caused  it  in  the  bondage  of  depravity,  as  a  natural 
necessity  resulting  from  the  sin.  This  necessary  bondage  he  designates 
as  the  first  element  in  the  punishment  of  sin. 

3.  Adam  was  endowed  with  the  generative  faculty,  by  means  of  which 
his  seed,  who  were  one  in  him,  should  receive  personal  existence,  and  a 
several  part  in  the  common  nature. 

4.  The  transgression  of  Adam  induced  the  subjection  of  the  whole 
nature  to  the  bondage  of  the  depravity  thus  embraced ;  which,  as  it  is 
not  caused  by  any  immediate  divine  interposition,  but  is  the  native  and 
proper  effect  of  the  sin,  is,  therefore,  not  only  a  punishment  of  the  sin, 
but  an  element  of  the  criminality  which  thenceforth  attaches  to  man's 
nature. 

5.  As  each  of  the  posterity  of  Adam  receives  existence,  he  with  his 
birth  acquires  a  part  in  the  criminality  of  the  first  sin,  and  in  the  depra- 
vity so  induced. 

6.  The  sin  and  depravity  thus  arising  involve  Adam  and  all  his  pos- 
terity in  the  penalty  of  all  earthly  calamities,  and  eternal  death ;  from 
which  nothing  but  the  redemption  of  Christ  can  save. 

7.  The  bondage  of  sin  is  such  that,  as  there  is  no  escaping  its  curse 
but  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  so  there  is  no  freedom  from  its  power  but  by 
the  transforming  Spirit  of  God. 

A  few  extracts  will  be  sufficient  to  illustrate  the  views  presented  by 
Augustine  on  these  points.  In  reply  to  the  Pelagians,  who  urged  that 
(aliena  peccata)  foreign  sins  could  not  be  justly  imputed  to  any,  he  says, 

*  Aug.  Retractations,  lib.  ii.  "j"  Ibid. 


Historical  Sketch.  21 

"  Nor  are  those  sins  called  foreign  as  though  they  belonged  not  at  all  to 
infants;  since  in  Adarn  all  then  sinned,  inasmuch  as  his  nature  was  en- 
dowed with  a  power  of  producing  those  who  as  yet  were  (omnes  ille 
unus)  all  one,  to  wit,  he.  But  the  sins  are  called  foreign,  because  the 
posterity  were  not  yet  living  their  own  lives ;  but  whatever  was  to  be  in 
the  future  offspring,  the  life  of  the  one  man  contained.  '  But  by  no 
means  is  it  to  be  admitted,' say  they,  (the  Pelagians,)  'that  God,  who  par- 
dons men's  own  sins,  should  impute  foreign  sins.'  He  pardons ;  but  by 
the  Spirit  of  regeneration,  not  by  the  flesh  of  generation.  They  were, 
indeed,  foreign,  when  they,  who  when  propagated  were  to  bear  them,  did 
not  yet  exist ;  but  now,  by  carnal  generation,  they  belong  to  those  to 
whom  they  have  not  yet  been  forgiven  through  the  spiritual  regenera- 
tion."* Equally  clear  is  the  statement  which  we  quote  on  page  490  of  the 
present  work.     Again,  he  says; 

"  In  respect  to  the  origin  of  the  seed,  from  which  all  were  to  spring, 
all  were  in  that  individual ;  and  all  these  are  he,  none  of  whom  as  yet 
existed  individually.  According  to  this  seminal  origin,  Levi  is  said  to 
have  been  in  the  loins  of  his  father  Abraham. — When,  in  respect  to  his 
substance,  he  did  not  yet  exist,  still,  as  respects  the  relation  of  seed,  it  is 
not  falsely  nor  idly  said,  that  he  was  there."t  "  The  whole  human  race 
(universum  genus  humanum)  which  by  the  woman  was  to  become  his 
offspring,  was  in  the  first  man,  when  the  pair  received  the  divine  sentence 
of  condemnation.  And  what  man  was,  not  by  creation,  but  by  sin  and 
punishment,  that  he  begat,  so  far,  at  least,  as  pertains  to  the  origin  of  sin 
and  death. "J  "I  have  said  that  sin  injures  no  native  but  its  own;  I 
therefore  said  it,  because  he  who  injures  a  good  man  does  him  in  fact  no 
injury,  since  it  really  increases  his  heavenly  reward.  .  .  .  The  Pelagians 
are  ready  to  pervert  this  sentiment  to  the  support  of  their  dogma,  and 
to  say,  that  infants  therefore  cannot  be  injured  by  (aliena  peccata)  the 
sins  of  another,  because  I  have  asserted  sins  to  injure  no  nature  but  their 
own:  not  observing  that  infants,  as  they  pertain  to  the  human  nature, 
therefore  contract  original  sin;  because  in  the  first  man  the  human 
nature  sinned,  and,  hence,  it  is  true  that  human  nature  is  injured  by 
no  sins  but  its  own."£ 

Great  exception  was  taken  by  the  Pelagians  to  that  feature  of  the  sys- 
tem of  Augustine  which  represents  the  bondage  of  the  nature  of  man  to 
sin  as  being  a  punishment  of  the  apostasy ;  and  the  outcry  is  still  re- 
echoed by  the  disciples  of  the  Pelagian  school.  As  is  usual  in  such  cases, 
these  writers  begin  by  misrepresenting  the  doctrine  which  they  decry. 
Dr.  "Wiggers  states  it  thus: — "The  propagation  of  Adam's  sin  among  his 
posterity,  is  a  punishment  of  the  same  sin.     The  sin  was  the  punishment 


*  Aug.  de  Pec.  Mer.  lib.  iii.  7,  8.  f  °PUS  Imperfcctura,  lib.  \v.  104. 

%  De  Civ.  Dei,  lib.  xiii.  3.  I  Retract,  lib.  i.  cap.  10. 


22  Introduction. 

of  the  sin.  The  corruption  of  human  nature  in  the  whole  race,  was 
the  righteous  punishment  of  the  transgression  of  the  first  man,  in  whom 
all  men  already  existed."*  "The  most  signal  moral  punishment  of 
Adam's  transgression,  was,  therefore,  the  sin  itself,  or  the  moral  corrup- 
tion, that  passed  over  to  his  posterity,  by  which  Adam  was  also  punished 
in  his  descendants.  .  .  .  But  the  moral  punishment  of  Adam's  sin  was 
also  a  positive  punishment  of  it.  An  entire  moral  ruin  of  man,  did  not 
follow  from  the  nature  of  Adam's  transgression,  but  God  had  annexed 
this  to  it  as  a  punishment ;  and  it  was  made  a  condition  by  the  prohibition. 
God  punished  sin  with  sin.  The  sinfulness  of  the  whole  human  race  is 
penal."f  The  zeal  which  this  writer  displays  in  charging  this  as  the  doc- 
trine of  Augustine,  does  not  compensate  for  the  lack  of  evidence  in  its 
support.  What  Augustine  did  teach  on  this  point  we  shall  presently  see. 
That  he  did  not  hold  the  opinion  thus  attributed  to  him, — that  the  race 
are  depraved,  not  by  the  natural  effect  of  the  sin,  but  by  the  positive  in- 
terposition of  God, — is  sufficiently  demonstrated  by  the  very  quotations 
with  which  Wiggers  professes  to  prove  his  assertions. — "If  Christ  is  the 
one  in  whom  all  are  justified,  because  not  the  mere  imitation  of  him 
makes  them  just,  but  grace  regenerating  by  the  Spirit ;  so  is  Adam  there- 
fore the  one  in  whom  all  have  sinned,  because  not  the  mere  imitation  of 
him  makes  them  sinners,  but  the  punishment  generating  by  the  flesh. "J 
"We  must  distinguish  three  things: — sin,  the  punishment  of  sin,  and 
that  which  in  such  manner  is  sin,  that  it  is  at  the  same  time  also 
the  punishment  of  sin.  Of  the  third  kind  is  original  sin,  which  is  so 
sin  that  it  is  also  the  punishment.of  sin;  which  is  indeed  in  children 
just  born,  but  begins  to  appear  in  them  as  they  grow  up  and  have  the 
needful  wisdom.  Yet  the  source  of  this  sin  descends  from  the  will  of 
him  that  sinned.  For  it  was  Adam ;  and  in  him  we  all  were.  Adam 
perished;  and  in  him  we  all  perished. "$  "By  the  first  pair,  so  great  a 
sin  was  committed,  that  by  it  human  nature  was  changed  for  the  worse, 
an  obligation  (obligatione,  a  bondage)  of  sin  and  a  necessity  of  death 
being  transmitted  to  posterity."  ||  Such  are  some  of  the  passages  of  Au- 
gustine which  Wiggers  cites,  to  prove  that  he  held  the  depravation  of 
man's  nature  to  have  been,  not  a  natural  consequence  of  the  apostasy, 
but  a  positive  infliction  from  God!  Nor  have  we  been  able  to  find  any 
thing  more  plausible,  to  justify  the  charge  here  considered. 

Neander,  with  more  candour,  states  Augustine's  doctrines.  "Man  is 
already  determined  within  himself  by  his  disposition  before  he  proceeds 
to  act.  Evil  and  good  cannot  spring  from  the  same  root.  The  good  tree 
cannot  bring  forth  evil  fruit,  nor  the  evil  tree  good  fruit.  The  root  from 
which  all  good  proceeds,  is  love  to  God ;  the  root  of  all  evil,  is  love  to  self. 

*  Wiggers'  Augustinisni  and  Pelagianism,  p.  88.  f  Ibid.  pp.  92,  9.3. 

J  Aug.  De  Pec.  Mer.  lib.  i.  15.  g  Opus  Iinperfectum,  lib.  i.  47. 

||  De  Civ.  Dei,  lib.  xiv.  1. 


Historical  Sketch.  23 

According  as  man  is  predominantly  actuated  by  love  to  God,  or  love  to 
himself,  he  brings  to  pass  that  which  is  good,  or  that  which  is  evil.  That 
[Pelagian]  definition  of  free  will,  he  maintains,  cannot  apply  to  God  nor 
to  holy  beings.  It  in  fact  presupposes  a  corruption  of  the  moral  powers, 
and  loses  its  applicability  the  more  in  proportion  as  man  advances  farther 
in  moral  development, — in  proportion  as  he  advances  to  true  freedom. 
At  the  highest  point  of  moral  advancement,  freedom  and  necessity  meet 
together ;  the  rational  being  acts  with  freedom,  in  determining  himself 
according  to  the  inward  law  of  his  nature.  .  .  .  Proceeding  on  the  above- 
stated  conception  of  freedom,  Augustine  must  believe  that  he  found  in 
the  actual  appearance  of  human  nature,  an  opposition  to  the  freedom 
which  was  so  apprehended  ;  inasmuch  as  this  true  conception  of  freedom 
is  in  this  case  nowhere  applicable.  Man  uniformly  finds  himself  in  a 
state  contradicting  this  freedom, — in  a  condition  of  bondage  to  sin.  Thus 
this  determinate  conception  of  freedom  leads  Augustine  to  the  presup- 
position of  a  corruption  of  human  nature,  and  of  an  original  moral  con- 
dition which  preceded  it.  And  cohering  also  with  this  is  the  thought 
that,  when  once  this  original  freedom  had  been  disturbed  by  the  first 
freely  chosen  aberration  from  the  law  of  the  original  nature,  a  state  of 
bondage  followed  after  the  state  of  freedom.  As  human  nature,  evolving 
itself  in  conformity  with  its  condition  by  nature,  surrendering  itself  to 
the  godlike,  becomes  continually  more  confirmed  and  established  in  true 
freedom ;  so,  in  surrendering  itself  to  sin,  it  becomes  continually  more 
involved  in  the  bondage  of  sin ;  to  which  Augustine  frequently  applies 
the  words  of  Christ :  '  lie  who  commits  sin  is  the  servant  of  sin.'  Evil 
is  its  own  punishment,  as  goodness  is  its  own  reward."*  Such  was  the 
sense  in  which  Augustine  represented  sin  as  the  punishment  of  sin.  As 
we  have  already  seen,  he  denies  that  it  can  injure  any  nature  but  that 
of  the  sinner  ;  and  that  the  posterity  of  Adam  are  only  injured  by  sin, 
as  it  was  the  sin  of  their  nature  as  well  as  his.  He  held  the  depravity  to 
be  penally  from  God  in  the  sense  that  the  Creator,  in  making  man,  so 
constructed  his  nature,  that  the  embrace  of  sin  would  constitute  an  en- 
slaving of  the  nature  to  its  power, — a  slavery  growing  out  of  the  very 
nature  of  sin  in  its  relation  to  the  soul ;  and  in  no  sense  caused  by  the 
interposition  of  God ;  but  from  which  nothing  but  the  power  of  God  is 
adequate  to  relieve  the  soul. 

In  reference  to  the  broad  line  of  distinction  which  runs  between  the 
powers  of  nature, — the  operation  of  second  causes, — and  the  immediate 
agency  of  God,  as  bearing  upon  this  whole  subject,  the  ground  taken 
by  Augustine  is  clearly  defined.  "The  whole  of  this  ordinary  course  of 
nature  has  certain  natural  laws  of  its  own,  according  to  which,  even 
the  spirit  of  life,  which  is  a  created  substance,  has  its  specific  appetites, 

*  Neander's  Church  History,  Torrey's  translation,  vol.  ii.  p.  602. 


24  Introduction. 

but  bounded  in  a  certain  way,  which  even  the  corrupted  will  cannot  pass. 
And  the  elements  of  this  material  world  have  a  definite  power  and 
quality, — what  each  one  can  or  cannot  do,  and  what  can  or  cannot  be 
done  respecting  each.  From  these,  as  the  primordial  sources,  all  things 
which  are  generated  take,  each  in  its  time,  their  origin  and  growth,  and 
the  limits  and  modifications  of  their  respective  kinds.  Hence  it  happens 
that  pulse  is  not  produced  from  wheat,  nor  wheat  from  pulse — man  from 
beast,  nor  beast  from  man.  But,  besides  this  natural  movement  and 
course  of  things,  the  power  of  the  Creator  hath  in  itself  a  capacity  to  do, 
concerning  all  these,  otherwise  than  their  own  (quasi  seminales  rationes) 
natural  powers  can  do.  Yet  neither  can  that  which  he  has  implanted  in 
them,  relative  to  these  powers,  be  exercised  independently  of  him,  nor 
yet  does  he  assert  his  omnipotence  by  the  exercise  of  an  intrusive,  arbi- 
trary force,  but  by  the  power  of  wisdom  ;  and,  concerning  each  particular 
thing,  in  his  own  time  he  does  that  which  he  had  before  created  in  it  a 
capacity  to  have  done.  It  is,  therefore,  a  different  mode  of  things  by 
which  this  plant  germinates  so,  and  that  in  a  different  way; — this  time  of 
life  is  prolific,  and  that  is  not ; — a  man  can  speak,  and  an  animal  cannot. 
The  (rationes)  efficient  causes  of  these  and  the  like  modes  of  operation  are 
not  merely  in  God,  but  are  also  by  him  implanted  and  concreated  in  the 
things  he  has  made.  But  that  wood,  cut  from  off  the  earth,  dry,  polished, 
without  any  root,  without  earth  or  water,  should  suddenly  flourish  and 
bear  fruit, — that  a  woman,  barren  in  youth,  should  bear  a  child  in  old 
age, — that  an  ass  should  speak, — and  whatever  there  is  of  this  kind,  he 
gave  it,  indeed,  to  the  natures  he  created,  that  these  things  might  take 
place  with  them.  So  that  he  does  not  with  them  what,  in  creating  them, 
he  had  made  impossible  to  be  done  with  them;  since  he  is  not  more 
powerful  than  himself.  But  he  constituted  things  in  a  distinctive  manner, 
so  that  they  should  not  have  these  phenomena  in  the  natural  course  of 
things,  but  in  that  way,  for  which  they  were  thus  so  created,  that  their 
nature  should  be  fully  subject  to  a  more  powerful  will.  God,  therefore, 
has  in  himself  the  hidden  causes  of  certain  acts,  which  causes  he  has  not 
implanted  in  the  things  he  has  made;  and  these  causes  he  puts  in  opera- 
tion, not  in  that  work  of  providence  by  which  he  creates  natures  as  they 
are,  but  in  that  by  which  he  manages,  after  his  pleasure,  the  things  which, 
according  to  his  pleasure,  he  made.  And  here  is  the  grace  by  which 
sinners  are  saved.  For,  as  it  respects  nature,  depraved  by  its  own  cor- 
rupted will,  it  has  in  itself  no  return,  except  by  God's  grace,  whereby  it 
is  aided  and  restored.  Nor  need  men  despair  by  reason  of  that  saying, — 
Prov.  ii.  19, — '  None  who  walk  in  it  shall  return  ;'  for  it  was  spoken  of 
the  burden  of  their  iniquity,  in  order  that  whoever  returns  should 
attribute  his  return,  not  to  himself,  but  to  the  grace  of  God — 'not  of 
works,  lest  any  should  boast.'  Therefore  the  apostle  speaks  of  the 
mystery  of  this  grace  as  hidden, — not  in  this  world,  in  which  are  hidden 


Historical  Sketch.  25 

the  causal  reasons  of  all  things  which  arise  naturally,  as  Levi  was  hid 
in  the  loins  of  Abraham,  but  in  God,  who  created  all  things."* 

In  respect  to  God's  sovereign  relation  to  sin,  he  declares  that  "Some 
things  God  both  produces  and  ordains ;  others  he  only  produces.  The 
holy  he  both  produces  and  ordains ;  but  sinners,  so  far  forth  as  they  are 
sinners,  he  does  not  produce,  but  only  ordains. "f  And,  with  a  still  more 
specific  reference  to  the  present  point,  he  says,  in  respect  to  the  language 
of  Paul  in  Romans  ix.  18-20,  "  We  seek  for  the  meritorious  cause  of  the 
hardening,  and  we  find  it ;  for  (peccatiuniversamassadamnataest)  the  whole 
lump  of  sin  is  condemned,  deservedly.  Nor  does  God  harden  by  impart- 
ing depravity,  but  by  not  imparting  mercy ;  for  they  to  whom  it  is  not 
imparted  are  neither  worthy  nor  deserving  of  it,  but  rather,  that  it  should 
not  be  imparted,  of  this  they  are  worthy,  this  they  have  deserved.  But 
we  seek  for  the  merit  of  mercy,  and  do  not  find  it,  for  there  is  none;  else 
grace  is  made  void,  if  rendered  to  merit,  and  not  freely  bestowed. "J 

That  the  doctrine  of  Augustine,  in  opposition  to  the  Pelagian  heresy, 
was  that  of  the  catholic  church,  and  not  a  new  invention  of  the  bishop 
of  Hippo,  as  is  asserted  by  Wiggers  and  the  apologists  of  Pelagius,  is  mani- 
fest from  facts  which  that  writer  himself  records: — the  secrecy  of  the  first 
proceedings  of  the  Pelagians;  the  prevarications  and  falsehoods  with 
which,  when  brought  to  trial,  they  veiled  their  opinions;  and  the  unani- 
mous condemnation  which  those  opinions  received,  even  from  those 
synods  who,  misled  by  the  duplicity  of  Pelagius  and  his  associates, 
acquitted  them  of  the  charge  of  holding  the  obnoxious  sentiments.  It 
is  further  evident  from  the  universal  acceptance  which  was  accorded  to 
the  teachings  of  Augustine  on  the  subject,  and  to  the  decrees  of  those 
synods  and  councils  by  which  Pelagianism  was  condemned. 

I  6.   The  Mcdiccval  Theology. 

It  is  not  our  design  to  trace,  in  detail,  the  history  of  opinion  on  the 
present  subject  during  the  middle  ages.  Nominally,  the  theology  of 
Augustine  was  universally  received  by  the  church  of  Rome.  But,  in 
reality,  the  growing  corruption  of  that  church  produced  some  essential 
changes  in  this  as  well  as  the  other  doctrines  of  religion.  About  the 
beginning  of  the  twelfth  century,  the  Nominal  philosophy,  introduced  by 
Rosceline  and  extensively  adopted,  combined  with  other  causes  to  give 
a  powerful  impulse  to  Pelagian  tendencies.  According  to  the  philosophy 
which  prevailed  prior  to  the  rise  of  this  sect,  such  universal  conceptions 
as  those  of  species,  genera,  and  nature  have,  as  their  ground,  some  kind 
of  objective  realities.  They  are  not  the  mere  result  of  thought,  but  have, 
in  some  proper  sense,  a  real  existence,  and  lie,  as  essences,  at  the  base 
of  the  existence  of  all  individuals  and  particulars.      From  the  Stoical 

*  Dc  Genesi  ad  Literam,  lib.  ix.  17.  18.  f  De  Genesi  ad  Lit.  lib.  i.  v. 

\  Epist.  105,  iii.     Op.  Aug.,  Parisii  ed.  1836,  Ep.  191,  jj  14. 


26  Introduction. 

philosophy,  Rosceline  introduced  the  opposite  doctrine, — that  only  indi- 
viduals have  any  real  existence.  General  conceptions  are  the  mere 
result  of  logical  combinations  of  thought.  They  are  but  abstractions, 
which  have  no  objective  significance.  They  are  mere  names,  and  not 
things.  Hence  the  designation  of  Nominalists,  by  which  this  sect  of 
philosophers  is  distinguished.  In  Rosceline  himself  the  skeptical  tend- 
ency of  the  Nominal  theory  developed  itself  in  questions  and  contro- 
versies respecting  the  personality  of  the  Three  who  subsist  in  the  divine 
Essence,  and  the  nature  of  that  Essence, — which  do  not  fall  within  our 
present  inquiry.  His  most  eminent  disciple,  Abelard,  who  was  also  the 
great  expositor  of  the  new  philosophy,  illustrates,  in  his  writings,  its 
bearing  upon  the  subject  of  original  sin.  Rejecting  the  Augustinian  doc- 
trine of  a  universal  human  nature  which  was  in  the  first  man,  he  was 
constrained  to  reject  with  it  the  whole  doctrine  of  original  sin  peculiar 
to  that  system.  Hence,  he  expounds  Romans  v.  12  as  meaning  no  more 
than  that  the  sin  of  Adam  involves  his  children  in  the  punishment,  but 
not  in  the  guilt  ;  and  by  the  word,  sin,  understands  that,  not  the  crime, 
but  the  penalty,  is,  by  metonymy,  designated.  "He  could  not  cast  off  the 
theory  that  all  continued  subject  to  those  punishments  that  had  passed 
upon  them  from  Adam;  and,  indeed,  in  order  to  free  himself  from  it,  it 
would  have  been  necessary  for  him  to  assume  an  entirely  different  posi- 
tion towards  the  church  doctrine  of  his  time,  and  to  make  a  far  more 
thorough  and  resolute  application  of  the  thoughts  which  he  had  expressed. 
But,  resolved  as  he  was  to  hold  fast  on  the  above  determinations  of  the 
church  doctrine,  while  he  refused  at  the  same  time  to  acknowledge  the 
catholic  doctrine  concerning  original  guilt  and  sin,  it  could  not  be 
otherwise  than  that,  from  his  own  point  of  view,  which  would  not  allow 
him  to  acknowledge  the  mysterious  connection  between  the  develop- 
ment of  the  entire  race  and  original  sin,  God  must  appear  only  so  much 
the  more  as  a  being  who  acted  arbitrarily  and  unjustly.  Thus  he  was 
driven  from  rationalism  to  the  most  abrupt  supernaturalism,  falling 
back,  as  the  last  resort,  upon  the  unlimited  will  of  the  Creator,  who  may 
dispose  of  his  creatures  according  to  his  own  pleasure.  He  thinks  that 
those  who  are  punished  without  any  guilt  of  their  own  can  no  more 
complain,  than  the  brutes  which  God  has  appointed  for  the  service  of 
man,  can  enter  into  judgment  with  him.  He  goes  to  the  extreme  of 
making  the  distinction  of  right  and  wrong  to  depend  on  the  divine  will;* 
a  representation  which,  it  is  evident,  directly  contradicts  his  doctrine  of 
God's  omnipotence."! 

*  "  Hac  ratione  profiteor,  quoquomoclo  Deus  creaturam  suam  tractare  velit,  nullius 
injuriae  potest  argui.  Nee  malum  aliquo  modo  potest  diei,  quod  juxta  ejus  voluntatem 
fiat.  Non  enim  aliter  bonum  a  malo  diseernere  possumus,  nisi  quod  ejus  est  consen- 
taneum  voluntati  et  in  placito  ejus  consistit." — Lib.  ii.  p.  595. 

f  Neander,  vol.  iv.  p.  494. 


Historical  Sketch.  27 

In  the  midst  of  surrounding  developments  of  error,  Odo,  or  Udardus, 
of  Tour-nay,  a  contemporary  of  Abelard,  exhibits  an  illustrious  example 
of  the  lingering  power  of  Augustine  ;  as  he  was,  also,  of  the  fervent 
piety  which  occasionally  shone  amid  the  shadows  of  the  "  dark  ages." 
At  first  a  teacher  of  the  realistic  philosophy,  in  the  cathedral  school  at 
Tournay,  he  was  attended  by  crowds  of  enthusiastic  pupils  from  France, 
Germany  and  the  Netherlands.  In  his  school,  engaging  in  the  exposi- 
tion of  Augustine's  work  De  Libero  Arbitrio,  he  came  to  a  passage  which 
sets  forth  the  wretched  condition  of  those  whose  souls  are  devoted  to 
earthly  pursuits,  to  the  forfeiture  of  heavenly  glory.  Applying  the 
argument  to  himself  and  his  ambitious  scholars,  so  greatly  was  he  moved 
by  his  own  expostulations,  that,  bursting  into  tears,  he  rose  from  the 
chair,  and,  followed  by  a  number  of  his  pupils,  went  forth  to  the  church, 
where  he  devoted  himself  to  the  pursuit  of  those  higher  honours  which 
come  from  God.  He  became  as  eminent  for  piety  and  zeal  in  defence  of 
the  gospel,  as  formerly  in  the  walks  of  philosophy ;  and  was,  suc- 
cessively, abbot  of  St.  Martin  of  Tours,  and,  in  1105,  chosen  bishop  of 
Cambray.  Among  his  writings  are  three  books  on  original  sin,  from 
which  a  paragraph  will  serve  to  exhibit  the  thoroughly  Augustinian  tone 
of  his  theology: — 

"What  is  the  difference  between  native  and  personal  sin?  For  sin. is 
spoken  of  in  two  modes, — as  natural  and  personal.  That  is  natural  with 
which  we  are  born,  which  we  derive  from  Adam,  in  whom  we  all  sinned. 
For  in  him  was  my  soul, — generically,  and  not  personally  ;  not  individu- 
ally, but  in  the  common  nature.  For  the  common  nature  of  all  human 
souls  was,  in  Adam,  involved  in  sin.  And  therefore  every  human 
soul  is  criminal,  as  to  its  nature;  although  not  so  personally.  Thus  the 
sin  which  we  sinned  in  Adam,  to  me  indeed  is  a  sin  of  nature,  but  in  him 
a  personal  sin.  In  Adam  it  is  more  criminal,  in  me  less  so  ;  for  in  him,  it 
was  not  I  who  now  am,  but  that  which  I  am,  that  sinned.  There  sinned 
in  him.  not  I,  but  this  which  is  I.  I  sinned  as  (generically)  man,  and 
not  as  Odo.  My  substance  sinned,  but  not  my  person ;  and  since  the  sub- 
stance does  not  exist  otherwise  than  in  a  person,  the  sin  of  my  substance 
attaches  to  my  person,  although  not  a  personal  sin.  For  a  personal  sin 
is  such  as, — not  that  which  I  am, — but  I  who  now  am,  commit, — in  which 
Odo,  and  not  humanity,  sins, — in  which  I  a  person,  and  not  a  nature, 
sin.  But  inasmuch  as  there  is  no  person  without  a  nature,  the  sin  of  a 
person  is  also  the  sin  of  a  nature,  although  it  is  not  a  sin  of  nature."* 

*  It  is  impossible  to  render  into  English  the  terseness  and  perspicuity  of  the  original. 
"Quid  distat  naturale  peccatum  et  personale?  Dicitur  enim  duobus  modis  peceatum 
personale  et  naturale.  Et  naturale  est  cum  quo  nascimur,  et  quod  ab  Adam  trahimus, 
in  quo  omnes  peccavimus.  In  ipso  enim  erat  animamea,  specie  non  persona,  non  in- 
dividua  sed  comrauni  natura.  Nam  omnis  humanas  aninias  natura  communis  erat  in 
Adam  obnoxia  peccato.     Et  ideo  omnis  humana  anima  culpabilis  est  secundam  suam 


28  Introduction. 

Other  causes  combined  with  the  Nominal  philosophy  to  corrupt  the 
doctrines  concerning  man's  nature  and  original  sin.  We  have  seen  that 
Augustine  warns  his  readers,  that  in  respect  to  the  origin  of  the  soul  they 
should  either  be  content  to  leave  the  question  undiscussed,  or  adopt  the 
theory  of  natural  propagation,  as  alone  consistent  with  the  scriptural 
doctrine  of  our  relation  to  Adam.  The  schoolmen,  however,  accepted 
neither  branch  of  the  alternative  of  Augustine,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
adopted  the  theory  of  immediate  creation;  and  the  subtleties  of  the 
scholastic  dialectics  were  employed  in  the  construction  of  a  system  in 
harmony  with  this  theory,  and  yet  maintaining  the  semblance  of  con- 
sistency with  the  Augustinian  teachings  on  the  subject  of  original  sin. 
The  doctrine  respecting  the  nature  of  man  was  also  essentially  modified. 
The  distinction  of  bona  naturalia  and  bona  gratuita  was  introduced.  Accord- 
ing to  one  form  of  this  theory,  the  first  man  was  endowed  with  all  the 
natural  powers  of  the  soul  in  full  vigour  and  purity,  and  a  will  free  and 
uncorrupt.  By  the  right  use  of  these  powers,  he  was  capable  of  continu- 
ing in  the  untarnished  integrity  of  his  original  estate.  But  in  order  to 
positive  righteousness, — to  which  these  natural  powers  were  altogether 
inadequate, — in  order  to  the  accomplishing  of  any  thing  which  should 
be  positively  good,  and  constitute  the  perfect  likeness  of  God,  he  must 
be  invested  with  supernatural  and  special  gifts  of  divine  grace.  This 
special  grace  was  not  bestowed  at  first ;  but  reserved  until,  by  the  right 
use  of  his  natural  powers,  man  should  have  qualified  himself  for  the 
reception  of  it,  and  merited  in  a  certain  sense  its  bestowal. 

By  Thomas  Aquinas  and  the  Dominicans,  this  opinion  was  so  far  modi- 
fied, that  they  held  the  distinction  between  the  state  of  pure  nature  and 
that  resulting  from  the  superaddition  of  special  grace,  to  be,  indeed,  just, 
forasmuch  as  original  righteousness  was  not  of  the  nature  of  man,  but 
consequent  upon  the  special  and  supernatural  aid  of  divine  grace,  with- 
out which  its  attainment  was  impossible.  But  they  taught  that  this  special 
grace  was  at  the  beginning  bestowed  upon  man  ;  so  that  he  was  endowed 
with  original  righteousness  from  the  first.  The  difference,  however,  be- 
tween the  two  theories  is  more  apparent  than  real,  even  upon  this  point; 
since  Thomas  held  it  as  the  most  probable  opinion  that  man  was  created 
in  a  state  of  pure  nature,  but  endowed  with  powers  which  were  necessa- 
rily active;  and,  having  been  created  with  a  heavenward  direction,  he 

naturaui,  etsi  non  secundum  suam  personam.  Ita  peccatum  quo  peccavimus  in  Adam, 
mini  quidam  naturale  est,  in  Adam  vero  personate.  In  Adam  gravius;  levius  in  me; 
nam  peccavi  in  eo,  non  qui  sum  sed  quod  sum.  Peccavi  in  eo,  non  ego,  sed  hoc,  quod 
sum  ego.  Peccavi  homo,  non  Odo.  Peccavi  substantia,  non  persona:  et  quia  sub- 
stantia non  est  nisi  in  persona,  peccatum  substantia  est  etiam  persona},  sed  non  per- 
sonate. Peccatum  vero  personate  est  quo  facio  ego  qui  sum,  non  hoc  quod  sum;  quo 
pecco  Odo,  non  homo;  quo  pecco  persona,  non  natura;  sed  quia  persona  non  est  sine 
natura,  peccatum  persona?  est  etiam  natura;,  sed  non  naturale." — Biblioth.  Vet.  Pat. 
vol.  xxi.  p.  233,  in  Beecher's  Conflict  of  Ages,  p.  319. 


Historical  Sketch.  29 

instantly  turned  to  God,  and  attained  to  the  possession  of  supernatural 
grace  and  original  righteousness. 

According,  however,  to  either  branch  of  this  theory,  the  whole  doctrine 
of  original  sin  is  essentially  modified.  By  the  first  transgression,  man 
was  not  divested  of  natural  goodness,  nor  a  real  and  positive  depravity 
superinduced.  Only  the  supernatural  grace,  and,  by  consequence,  original 
righteousness,  was  taken  away,  and  the  natural  powers,  the  bona  naluralia, 
were  disordered.  "Habit,"  says  Aquinas,  "is  twofold.  There  is  one  in 
which  a  power  is  inclined  to  action,  as  knowledges  and  virtues  are  habits ; 
and  in  this  sense  original  sin  is  not  a  habit.  In  another  sense,  habit, 
designates  (dispositio  alicujus  naturae)  an  arrangement  of  any  nature 
which  is  composed  of  several  things,  according  to  which  (bene  se  habet, 
vel  male)  it  is  characterized  by  excellence,  or  the  reverse ;  and  especially 
when  such  an  arrangement  so  bears,  as  it  were,  upon  the  nature  that  it 
constitutes  disorder  or  soundness.  And  in  this  sense  original  sin  is  a 
habit;  for  it  is  a  certain  disorderly  arrangement,  resulting  from  the  dis- 
solution of  that  harmony,  in  which  consisted  the  principle  of  original 
righteousness; — as,  also,  bodily  sickness  is  a  disorderly  arrangement  of 
the  body,  by  which  is  destroyed  the  equilibrium  in  which  consists  the 
principle  of  health ;  whence  also  original  sin  is  called  a  languor  of  the 
nature.  To  the  question,  therefore,  whether  original  sin  is  a  habit  merely, 
it  is  to  be  answered,  that  as  bodily  sickness  has  something  privative,  as 
the  equilibrium  of  health  is  taken  away,  and  something  positive,  to  wit, 
the  humours  occupying  disorderly  relations, — so  original  sin  has  the  pri- 
vation of  original  righteousness,  and  with  this  a  disorderly  arrangement 
of  the  parts  of  the  soul.  Hence,  it  is  not  a  thing  merely  privative ;  but 
is  also  a  sort  of  corrupt  habit."* 

"Well  might  Luther  say,  of  this  doctrine,  that,  "as  it  takes  from  the 
magnitude  of  original  sin,  it  is  to  be  shunned  as  a  deadly  poison."  Out 
of  the  former  branch  of  the  theory — cherished  by  the  Franciscans,  the 
advocates  of  the  Nominal  philosophy — was  at  length  developed  the  Molina- 
Pelagian  ism  of  the  Jesuits, — the  theology  which  is  now  dominant  in  the 
church  of  Rome.  The  theory  of  Aquinas  is  reproduced  in  those  Protest- 
ant writers  who,  by  means  of  the  distinctions  of  pure,  impure  and  not- 
pure,  as  applied  to  the  soul  of  man,  attempt  to  reconcile  the  assertion  of 
its  immediate  creation  with  the  fact  of  its  actual  depravity. 

|  7.  The  earlier  Reformed  Confessions. 
The  first  Basle  confession,  1532. 
"We  confess  man,  at  the  first,  to  have  been  made  wholly  after  the 
image  of  God,  in  righteousness  and  holiness.    But  (sua  sponte)  by  his  own 
will  he  fell  into  sin  ;  by  which  fall  the  whole  human  race  is  become  cor- 
rupt, and  subject  to  damnation. 

*  S.  Thorn.  Aquin.  Sum.  Theol,  Pars  prima  secundae,  Qu.  lxxxii.  1. 


30  Introduction. 

"Our  nature  is  also  vitiated,  and  has  acquired  such  a  tendency  to  sin, 
that,  unless  renewed  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  man  can  of  himself  neither  do 
nor  will  any  thing  good." 

The  second  Basle  or  first  Helvetic  confession,  1536. 

"  Man,  when  he  had  been  created  by  a  holy  God  the  perfect  image  of 
God  upon  earth,  having  precedence  over  all  the  visible  creatures,  and  con- 
sisting of  soul  and  body,  of  which  the  latter  was  mortal,  the  former  im- 
mortal, (sua  culpa  in  vitium  prolapsus,)  by  his  own  crime  falling  into  de- 
pravity, drew  with  him  in  the  same  ruin  the  whole  human  race,  and 
rendered  it  obnoxious  to  the  same  calamity. 

"This  plague,  which  they  call,  original,  has  so  pervaded  the  whole 
human  race  that  the  child  of  wrath  and  enemy  of  God  can  be  recovered 
by  no  power  but  that  of  God,  through  Christ.  For,  if  any  good  fruit  sur- 
vives, it  is  continually  enfeebled  by  our  vices,  and  turned  to  corruption  ; 
for  the  power  of  evil  prevails,  and  neither  permits  men  to  yield  to  the 
guidance  of  reason  nor  to  cultivate  (mentis  divinitatem)  the  likeness  of 
God  in  the  soul." 

The  Gallic  confession,  attributed  to  Calvin,  1560. 

"  We  believe  man,  who  was  created  pure  and  upright  and  in  the  likeness 
of  God's  image,  by  his  own  crime,  to  have  apostatized  from  the  grace 
which  he  had  received,  and  thus  to  have  alienated  himself  from  God,  the 
fountain  of  all  righteousness  and  every  good  thing ;  so  that  his  nature  is 
altogether  corrupt,  and  he,  blinded,  in  understanding  and  depraved  in 
heart,  has  lost  every  feature  of  that  (original)  excellence,  without  the 
least  exception.  For,  although  he  has  some  power  of  choice  between 
good  and  evil,  yet  we  affirm  whatever  light  is  in  him  immediately  to 
become  darkness  when  he  engages  in  seeking  after  God;  so  that,  by 
his  own  understanding  and  reason,  he  can  by  no  means  come  to  him. 
Yea,  although  he  is  endowed  with  a  will,  by  which  he  is  moved  in  one 
direction  or  another,  yet,  as  it  is  entirely  under  bondage  to  sin,  he  has 
absolutely  no  liberty  for  the  pursuit  of  that  which  is  good,  unless,  by 
grace,  he  receive  it  from  the  gift  of  God. 

"We  believe  the  whole  of  Adam's  posterity  to  be  infected  with  this 
contagion,  which  we  call  original  sin; — that  is,  (vitium,)  a  vice  flowing 
from  propagation,  and  not  arising  from  imitation  merely,  as  the  Pela- 
gians suppose, — all  the  errors  of  whom  we  detest.  Nor  do  we  think  it 
necessary  to  inquire  how  it  is  possible  for  this  sin  to  be  propagated  from 
one  to  another.  It  is  enough  that  those  endowments  which  God  bestowed 
upon  Adam  were  given,  not  to  him  alone,  but  to  all  his  posterity ;  and, 
hence,  that  we,  in  his  person,  were  spoiled  of  all  those  gifts,  and  fell 
under  all  this  misery  and  curse. 

"We  believe  this  vice  to  be  (vere  peccatum)  truly  sin,  which  renders 
each  and  every  one  of  the  human  race,  unborn  infants  not  excepted, 
subject,  at  the  bar  of  God,  to  eternal  death.     We  further  assert  this  vice 


Historical  jSketch.  31 

to  be,  even  after  baptism,  truly  sin,  (quod  attinet  ad  culpam,)  which 
constitutes  a  crime,  although  they  who  are  sons  of  God  are  not,  therefore, 
condemned  ;  and  that,  because,  out  of  his  gratuitous  goodness  and  mercy, 
God  does  not  impute  it  to  them.  We  further  declare  this  depravity 
always  to  bring  forth  some  fruits  of  wickedness  and  rebellion ;  so  that 
even  they  who  excel  in  holiness,  although  they  resist  its  power,  yet  are 
defiled  with  many  shortcomings  and  sins,  as  long  as  they  remain  in  this 
world." 

The  First  Scotch  confession,  1560. 

"  We  confess  and  acknowledge  this  our  God  to  have  created  man,  to 
wit,  our  first  father  Adam,  to  his  own  image  and  similitude  ;  to  whom  he 
gave  wisdom,  lordship,  justice,  free  will,  and  clear  knowdedge  of  himself; 
so  that,  in  the  whole  nature  of  man,  there  could  be  noted  no  imperfec- 
tion ;  from  which  honour  and  perfection,  man  and  woman  did  both  fall. 
The  woman  being  deceived  by  the  serpent,  and  man  obeying  the  voice 
of  the  woman  ;  both  conspiring  against  the  sovereign  majesty  of  God, 
who,  in  express  words,  had  before  threatened  death,  if  they  presumed  to 
eat  of  the  forbidden  tree. 

"  By  which  transgression,— commonly  called  original  sin, — was  the 
image  of  God  utterly  defaced  in  man,  and  he  and  his  posterity  of  nature 
became  enemies  to  God,  slaves  to  Satan,  and  servants  to  sin  ;  insomuch 
that  death  everlasting  hath  had,  and  shall  have,  power  and  dominion 
over  all  that  have  not  been,  are  not,  or  shall  not  be  regenerated  from 
above :  which  regeneration  is  wrought  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
working,  in  the  hearts  of  the  elect  of  God,  an  assured  faith  in  the  pro- 
mise of  God  revealed  to  us  in  his  word ;  by  which  faith  we  apprehend 
Christ  Jesus,  with  the  graces  and  benefits  promised  in  him."* 
Articles  of  the  church  of  England,  1502. 

"  Art.  IX.  Of  original  or  birth  sin. — Original  sin  standeth  not  in  the  follow- 
ing of  Adam,  as  the  Pelagians  do  vainly  talk,  but  is  the  fault  and  corrup- 
tion of  the  nature  of  every  man  that  naturally  is  engendered  of  the 
offspring  of  Adam,  whereby  man  is  very  far  gone  from  original  righteous- 
ness, and  is  of  his  own  nature  inclined  to  evil,  so  that  the  flesh  lusteth 
always  contrary  to  the  Spirit,  and,  therefore,  in  every  person  born  into 
this  wyorld,  it  deserveth  God's  wrath  and  damnation.  And  this  infection 
of  nature  doth  remain, — yea,  in  them  that  are  regenerated, — whereby  the 
lust  of  the  flesh,  called,  in  Greek,  <t>[>6vn/ia  oapubr, — which  some  do  expound, 
the  wisdom,  some  the  sensuality,  some  the  affections,  some  the  desire  of 
the  flesh, — is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God.  And  although  there  is  no 
condemnation  for  them  that  believe  and  are  baptized,  yet  the  apostle 
doth  confess  that  concupiscence  and  lust  hath  of  itself  the  nature  of  sin." 
The  Belgic  confession,  15G2. 

"  We  believe  God  to  have  made  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  after 


*  Confessions  of  public  authority  in  the  church  of  Scotland,  Glasgow,  1771,  p. 


28. 


32  Introduction. 

his  image,  that  is,  good,  righteous  and  holy ;  who  was  able,  (proprio  ar- 
bitrio)  of  himself,  to  regulate  his  own  will,  and  conform  it  to  the  will 
of  God.  But,  when  he  was  in  honour,  he  knew  it  not,  and  did  not  recog- 
nise his  own  good ;  but,  (seipsum  sciens  et  volens,)  following  his  own 
mind  and  will,  he  enslaved  himself  to  sin,  and,  by  consequence,  to 
death  and  the  curse ;  whilst,  giving  heed  to  the  words  and  deceptions 
of  the  devil,  he  transgressed  the  law  of  life  which  he  received  from  the 
Lord,  and  immediately  apostatized  and  alienated  himself  from  God,  his 
true  life, — his  nature  being  altogether  vitiated  and  corrupted  by  sin. 
Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  he  has  rendered  himself  obnoxious  to  death, 
corporeal  and  spiritual.  Therefore,  having  become  evil  and  perverse, 
and  corrupt  in  all  his  ways  and  plans,  he  lost  all  those  excellent  gifts 
with  which  God  had  adorned  him  ;  so  that  there  is  nothing  of  them  left, 
unless  it  be  the  feeblest  ray  and  most  slender  traces,  which,  however, 
are  sufficient  to  render  men  inexcusable,  because  whatever  of  light  is 
in  us,  is  turned  into  thick  darkness,  as  also  the  Scripture  teaches,  saying, 
'  The  light  shineth  in  the  darkness,  and  the  darkness  comprehended  it 
not.'  For,  there,  John  evidently  calls  men,  darkness.  Therefore,  what- 
ever opinions  are  held  respecting  the  freedom  of  man's  will,  we  de- 
servedly reject,  since  he  is  the  servant  of  sin,  and  man  can,  of  himself, 
do  nothing  unless  it  is  given  him  from  heaven.  Who  then  will  dare  to 
boast  himself  to  be  able  to  do  whatever  he  chooses,  when  Christ  himself 
has  said,  '  No  one  can  come  to  me,  except  the  Father,  who  hath  sent  me, 
draw  him'?  Who  will  hold  up  his  own  will,  when  he  hears  that  all 
the  affections  of  the  flesh  are  enmity  against  God  ?  Who  will  glory  in 
his  own  understanding,  who  knows  the  natural  man  to  be  incapable  of 
knowing  the  things  of  the  Spirit?  In  short,  who  will  bring  forward 
even  any  of  his  own  thoughts,  that  understands  that  we  are  not  fit,  as  of 
ourselves,  to  think  any  thing,  but  all  our  sufficiency  is  of  God  ?  AYhat 
the  apostle  says,  must  therefore  remain  sure  and  immovable  : — '  It  is 
God  who  worketh  in  us,  both  to  will  and  to  do,  of  his  good  pleasure.' 
For  no  mind,  no  will,  acquiesces  in  the  will  of  God,  upon  which  Christ 
himself  has  not  first  operated;  which  he  also  declares,  saying,  'Without 
me  ye  can  do  nothing.' 

"  We  believe  the  sin  which  is  called,  original,  to  have  been  scattered 
and  diffused,  by  the  disobedience  of  Adam,  through  the  entire  human 
species.  This  original  sin  is  a  corruption  of  the  whole  nature,  and  a 
hereditary  vice,  by  which  even  infants  are  defiled  in  the  womb  ;  and 
which,  as  some  poisonous  root,  generates  every  sort  of  sin  in  man ;  and  it 
is  so  vile  and  detestable  before  God,  that  it  suffices  for  the  condemnation 
of  the  whole  race.  Nor  are  we  to  suppose  that  it  is  altogether  removed, 
or  pulled  up  by  the  root,  by  baptism ;  since  from  it,  as  from  a  corrupt 
spring,  unceasing  waves  and  streams  arise  and  continually  flow  abroad. 
Yet  to  the  sons  of  God,  it  may  not  be  charged  nor  imputed  to  condem- 
nation ;  but,  of  the  mere  grace  and  mercy  of  God,  it  is  remitted  to  them ; 


Historical  Sketch.  33 

not  that,  relying  upon  this  remission,  they  may  slumber;  but  that,  by 
the  sense  of  this  corruption,  pai'don  may  excite  continual  groans  in 
believers,  and  that  thereby  they  may  the  more  ardently  desire  to  be 
freed  from  this  body  of  death.  Hence,  we  condemn  the  error  of  the 
Pelagians,  who  assert  this  sin  of  origin  to  be  nothing  else  than  the  effect 
of  imitation." 

The  latter  Helvetic  confession,  15G5. 

"Man  was  made  in  the  beginning  in  the  image  of  God,  in  righteousness 
and  true  holiness,  good  and  upright;  but  by  the  subtlety  of  the  serpent, 
and  his  own  crime,  falling  from  goodness  and  rectitude,  he  became  ob- 
noxious to  sin,  death  and  various  calamities.  And  such  as  he  became 
by  the  fall,  such  are  they  who  are  begotten  of  him,  obnoxious  to  sin, 
death  and  various  calamities.  Now,  sin  we  understand  to  be  that  native 
corruption  of  man,  from  those  our  first  parents,  derived  or  propagated  in 
us  all;  by  which,  immersed  in  depraved  lusts,  and  averse  from  good,  but 
propense  to  all  evil,  full  of  all  unrighteousness,  unbelief,  contempt  and 
hatred  of  God,  we  are  not  able,  of  ourselves,  to  do,  or  even  to  think,  any 
thing  good.  Nay,  rather,  in  thoughts,  words  and  deeds,  depraved  and 
at  variance  with  the  law  of  God,  we  continually  bring  forth  corrupt  fruit, 
appropriate  to  the  evil  tree.  By  reason  whereof,  through  our  desert  ex- 
posed to  the  wrath  of  God,  we  are  subjected  to  just  punishment;  so  that 
we  had  all  been  cast  off  from  God,  had  not  Christ  the  Redeemer  brought 
us  back. 

"  By  death,  therefore,  we  do  not  understand  merely  bodily  death,  which 
on  account  of  sin  is  once  to  be  endured  by  us  all,  but  also  the  eternal  punish- 
ment which  is  due  to  our  sins  and  corruption.  For  the  aj)Ostle  says,  Eph. 
ii.,  'We  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  and  were  by  nature  the  chil- 
dren of  wrath,  even  as  others.  But  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  when  we 
were  dead  in  sins  hath  quickened  us  together  with  Christ.'  So  Bom.  v. 
12.  As  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  by  sin  death,  and  so 
death  passed  to  all  men,  (in  quo  omnes  peccaverunt,)  in  whom  all  sinned. 
.  .  .  We,  moreover,  condemn  Florinus  and  Blastus  against  whom  also 
Irenasus  wrote;  and  all  who  make  God  the  author  of  sin.  For  it 
is  expressly  written,  Psalm  t.,  'Thou  art  not  a  God  that  hath  plea- 
sure in  wickedness.  Thou  hatest  all  workers  of  iniquity.  Thou  shalt 
destroy  them  that  speak  leasing.'  And  again,  John  viii.,  'When  the  devil 
speaketh  a  lie,  he  speaketh  of  his  own;  for  he  is  a  liar,  and  the  father 
of  it.'  But  in  us  ourselves  there  is  enough  of  vice  and  corruption,  so  that 
it  is  not  necessary  that  God  should  infuse  into  us  any  new  or  greater  de- 
pravity. Therefore,  when  God  is  said  in  the  Scriptures  to  harden,  to 
blind,  and  to  deliver  over  to  a  reprobate  mind,  it  is  to  be  understood  that 
God  does  it  in  just  retribution  as  a  righteous  judge  and  avenger.  Fur- 
thermore, as  often  as  God,  in  the  Scriptures,  is  said  and  appears  to  do 
any  evil,  it  is  not  therefore  said,  because  man  is  not  the  doer  of  the  evil, 

3 


34  Introduction. 

but  because,  in  his  righteous  judgment,  God,  who  is  able  if  he  willed  to 
prevent  it,  permits  it  to  be  done,  and  does  not  prevent  it;  either  because 
by  the  wickedness  of  man  he  accomplishes  good,  as  by  the  sins  of  Jo- 
seph's brethren ;  or  because  he  may  restrain  the  sins,  so  that  they  shall 
not  break  out  and  go  beyond  what  is  fitting.  St.  Augustine  says  in  his 
Enchiridion,  '  In  a  wonderful  and  ineffable  manner,  that  is  not  done  con- 
trary to  his  will,  which  nevertheless  is  contrary  to  his  will.  For  it  could 
not  take  place,  did  not  he  permit  it  to  be  done.  Nor  yet  does  he  permit 
it  unwillingly,  but  willing  to  do  so.  Nor  would  a  good  God  permit  evil 
to  occur,  unless  the  omnipotent  One  were  able  out  of  evil  to  accomplish 
good.'  Thus  speaks  Augustine.  The  other  questions, — Whether  God 
willed  the  fall  of  Adam,  or  impelled  him  to  his  fall?  or,  Why  he  did  not 
prevent  the  fall?  and  such  questions,  we  leave  to  the  inquisitive,  knowing 
that  the  Lord  prohibited  man  to  eat  of  the  forbidden  fruit,  and  punished 
the  transgression  ;  and  yet  what  was  done  was  not  evil  with  respect  to  the 
providence,  will  and  power  of  God ;  but  only  with  respect  to  our  will  and 
that  of  Satan,  repugnant  to  the  will  of  God." 

\  8.  Continental  Divines  of  the  Reformed  church. 

Those  above,  are  the  most  important  of  the  earlier  Eeformed  confes- 
sions ;  with  which  the  others,  and  the  Lutheran  formularies  and  writers, 
are  in  perfect  harmony.     But  our  space  will  not  permit  their  insertion. 

The  fact  cannot  have  failed  to  strike  the  reader  that  in  no  one  of  these 
confessions  of  the  Reformed  church  is  the  line  of  demarcation  drawn 
between  original  sin  imputed  and  original  sin  inherent.  The  same  man- 
ner of  presentation  is  characteristic  of  the  writings  of  Calvin,  the  master 
spirit  of  the  Reformed  church,  whose  influence  was  paramount  from  an 
early  period  of  his  ministry,  and  entered  decisively  into  the  construction 
of  all  the  principal  Reformed  confessions.  So  strongly  are  the  writings 
of  Calvin  characterized  by  the  inseparable  combination  of  the  two  ele- 
ments of  original  sin, — so  invariably  does  he  recognise  the  depravity  of 
man,  as  the  terminus  ad  quern, — the  immediate  effect  of  the  first  act  of 
transgression,  in  the  entire  nature  of  man, — that  occasion  has  thence  been 
taken  to  deny  that  the  Genevan  reformer  held  the  doctrine  of  the  impu- 
tation to  us  of  Adam's  sin.  But  the  candid  reader,  who  will  carefully 
examine  the  writings  of  the  illustrious  reformer,  will  find  that  he  dis- 
tinctly and  habitually  recognises  and  earnestly  asserts  it ; — but  that 
in  speaking  of  it  he  is  ever  actuated  by  an  anxiety  to  guard  against 
the  supposition,  that  we  are  condemned  by  an  arbitrary  putation  of  a 
merely  extraneous  act,  personal  to  Adam;  instead  of  justly  suffering  for 
the  intrinsic  guilt  and  depravity,  which,  with  our  being,  flow  to  us  from 
him, — the  idea  that  the  first  transgression  may  justly  be  designated, 
after  the  manner  of  the  Pelagians,  (alienum  peccatum)  a  foreign  sin. 
Hence   the   way  in  which  he  associates  the  two   elements  in   original 


Historical  /Sketch.  35 

sin,  in  his  Institutes,  and  elsewhere.  Thus  he  speaks  of  "that 
hereditary  corruption,  which  the  fathers  called  original  sin ;  meaning  by- 
sin  the  depravation  of  a  nature  previously  good  and  pure;  on  which 
subject  they  had  much  contention,  nothing  being  farther  from  carnal 
apprehension  than  that  all  should  be  made  guilty  by  the  crime  of  one, 
and  so  the  sin  be  made  common ;  which  seems  to  have  been  the  reason 
why  the  most  ancient  doctors  of  the  church  do  but  glance  at  this  point, 
or  at  least  explained  it  with  less  perspicuity  than  it  required.  Yet  this 
timidity  could  not  prevent  Pelagius  arising;  who  profanely  pretended 
that  the  sin  of  Adam  only  ruined  himself,  and  did  not  injure  his  de- 
scendants. By  concealing  the  disease  with  this  delusion,  Satan  sought  to 
render  it  incurable.  But  when  it  was  evinced  by  the  plain  testimony  of 
the  scripture,  that  sin  was  communicated  from  the  first  man  to  all  his 
posterity,  he  sophistically  urged  that  it  was  communicated  by  imitation, 
not  by  propagation.  Therefore  good  men,  and  beyond  all  others  Augus- 
tine, have  laboured  to  demonstrate  that  we  are  not  corrupted  by  any 
adventitious  means ;  but  that  we  derive  an  innate  depravity  from  our 
very  birth."*  Here,  Calvin,  in  the  first  part  of  the  passage,  has  in  view 
tin-  act  of  apostasy — "the  depravation  of  a  nature  previously  good," — 
"the  crime  of  one,"  which  is  a  "sin  common"  to  all.  But  as  he  pro- 
ceeds lie  glides  into  the  other  aspect  of  the  subject;  and  ends  with  native 
depravity.  The  same  tiling  occurs  in  the  next  section,  where  he  very 
clearly  indicates  the  subject  of  which  he  speaks,  as  being  the  act  of 
Adam's  apostasy.  This  appears  from  the  contrast  which  he  draws  be- 
tween it  and  the  righteousness  by  which  we  are  justified.  And  yet  much 
of  what  he  says  on  the  subject  is  only  predicable  of  inherent  depravity. 
In  fact,  the  same  remark  applies  to  the  entire  argument  contained  in  the 
chapter.  A  few  additional  citations  will  set  the  doctrine  of  Calvin  in  a 
clear  light. 

"  In  the  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  with  a  view  to  confirm  the 
pious  in  a  confidence  of  the  resurrection,  he  [Paul]  shows  that  the  life 
which  had  been  lost  in  Adam  was  recovered  in  Christ.  He  who  pro- 
nounces that  we  are  all  dead  in  Adam,  does  also,  at  the  same  time, 
declare  that  we  are  implicated  in  the  crime  of  the  sin,  (labe  peccati ;)  for 
no  condemnation  could  reach  those  who  were  not  attainted  with  any 
crime,  (nulla  iniquitatis  culpa  attingerentur.)  But  his  meaning  cannot  be 
better  understood  than  from  the  relation  of  the  other  member  of  the 
sentence,  where  he  informs  us  that  the  hope  of  life  is  restored  by  Christ. 
But  that  is  well  known  to  be  accomplished  only  when  Christ,  by  a 
wonderful  communication,  transfuses  into  us  the  virtue  of  his  righteous- 
ness; as  it  is  elsewhere  said,  The  Spirit  is  life,  because  of  righteous- 
ness."! 

"  It  is  of  importance  to  point  out,  here,  two  distinctions  between  Christ 

*  Calvin's  Institutes,  Bouk  II.  eh.  i.  5.  f  Ibid.  6. 


36  Introduction. 

and  Adam.  .  .  .  The  first  is,  that,  in  Adam's  sin  we  are  not  condemned 
by  a  bare  imputation,  as  though  the  punishment  of  another's  sin  were 
exacted  of  us,  but  we  therefore  endure  his  punishment,  because  we  are 
also  guilty  of  the  crime,  inasmuch  as  our  nature,  vitiated  in  him,  is  held 
guilty  of  iniquity  by  God.  But  Christ's  righteousness  restores  to  salva- 
tion by  another  method ;  for  it  is  not  accepted  of  God,  because  it  is 
intrinsically  in  us,  but  the  bounty  of  the  Father  makes  us  possess  Christ 
himself,  who  is  bestowed  uj)on  us  with  all  his  blessings." 

We  are  aware  that  these  expressions  of  Calvin  have  been  explained  as 
meaning  that  we  therefore  endure  the  punishment  of  Adam's  sin  because 
we  are  guilty  of  native  depravity.  This  was  the  subterfuge  under  which 
Placaeus  sought  to  evade  the  condemnation  of  his  heresy.  But  the  lan- 
guage does  not,  we  think,  admit  of  this  interpretation.  It  seems  to  be 
unambiguous: — "We  therefore  endure  Adam's  punishment  (pcenam  ejus) 
because  we  are  guilty  of  the  crime,  since  our  nature,  vitiated  in  him,  is 
held  guilty  of  iniquity  by  God."  It  is  the  apostasy,  the  vitiating  of  nature, 
and  not  the  consequent  dej^ravity,  which  is  described;  and  the  whole 
matter  of  which  Calvin  speaks  is  specifically  limited  to  the  action  of 
Adam's  sin.  It  is,  in  peccato  Adcc,  that  he  says  we  are  condemned  and 
punished,  because,  culpa  sumus  rei. — "Prior  est,  quod,  in  peccato  Ada?,  non 
per  solam  imputationem  damnamur,  acsi  alieni  peccati  exigeretur  a  nobis 
poena;  sed  ideo  pcenam  ejus  sustinemus,  quia  et  culpse  sumus  rei,  quatenus 
scilicet  natura  nostra  in  ipso  vitiata,  iniquitatis  reatu  abstringitur  apud 
Deum."* 

On  this  subject  the  language  of  Ursinus  is  very  clear: — "  Truly,  we  all 
justly  bear  the  punishment  of  Adam's  crime, — 1.  Because  the  crime  is  so 
Adam's  as  to  be  ours  also.  For  we  all  sinned  in  Adam's  sinning,  because 
we  were  all  in  the  loins  of  Adam.  2.  Because  we  all,  with  our  nature, 
receive  the  crime  of  Adam,  we  approve  of  it,  we  imitate  it.  '  Who  can 
bring  a  clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean?'  3.  Since  the  whole  nature  of 
Adam  was  guilty,  and  we  are  propagated  from  his  mass,  it  is  impossible 
that  we  should  not  also  be  guilty: — 'We  are  all,  by  nature,  children  of 
wrath.'  4.  Adam  received  his  gifts  from  God  under  this  law: — that  he 
should  impart  them  to  us,  if  he  kept  them  himself,  or  destroy  them  alto- 
gether, if  he  failed  to  retain  them.  Inasmuch,  therefore,  as  he  lost  them, 
he  lost  them  not  for  himself  alone,  but  for  all  his  posterity."f 

"The  first  sin,"  says  Marck,  "considered  in  its  extent,  was  as  noxious 
and  evil,  as  in  its  nature;  for  it  subjected  the  whole  race  of  man  to  guilt  J 

*  Calvin  on  Romans  v.  17. 

f  Ursinus  on  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  Question  vii.     Edition  of  1634,  p.  46. 

J  In  what  sense  Marck  uses  the  word,  reatus,  (guilt,)  in  this  place,  may  be  seen  not 
only  from  his  definition  elsewhere  given,  but  by  the  language  of  his  next  section,  where, 
alluding  to  the  doctrine  of  propagated  guilt,  here  stated,  he  says,  "Neither  is  Christ, 
therefore,  subject  to  the  same  guilt,  (reatui.)" 


Historical  Sketch.  37 

and  eternal  condemnation  from  God,  and  that  by  the  dispensation  of 
justice,  although  the  Socinians  and  Arminians  refer  it  altogether  to  the 
sovereignty  of  God.  For,  as  Adam  received  the  image  of  God,  not  for 
himself  alone,  but  for  his  seed,  so  he  sinned,  not  for  himself  alone,  but 
for  us  all ;  because  we  all  were  in  him,  as  the  branches  in  the  root,  the 
lump  in  the  first  fruits,  the  members  in  the  head ;  and,  therefore,  we  may 
invert  the  axiom  of  Paul.  'For  if  the  first  fruit  be  holy,  the  lump  is  also 
holy ;  and  if  the  root  be  holy,  so  are  the  branches.' — Kom.  xi.  16.  Where- 
fore it  is  said  that  'in  Adam  all  die.' — 1  Cor.  xv.  22.  And  especially  what 
the  apostle  has  in  Rom.  v.  12, — 'By  one  man  sin  entered  the  world/  &c, 
— leads  directly  to  the  same  conclusion.  If  «/>'  h  be  taken  in  a  causative 
sense — 'for  that,' — it  is  not  possible  that  sin  and  death  should  pervade  the 
world  through  the  sin  of  one  man.  if  his  crime  was  not,  in  the  same  sense, 
common  to  all;  or,  it  maybe  rather  rendered  subjectively  for,  'in  which, 
(man,)'  as  it  is  not  uncommon  to  use  inl  for  h,  as  appears  in  Mark  xi.  4 
and  Ileb.  ix.  17 ; — which  interpretation,  the  other  being  rejected,  is  con- 
stantly adopted  by  Augustine  against  the  Pelagians,  who  sought  cover  in 
the  other  rendering ;  and,  since  this  transgression  was  not  merely  personal, 
as  were  those  which  followed  it,  but  common,  and,  in  a  sense,  belonging 
to  the  nature,  it  hence  appears  that  the  dogma  of  the  Pelagians  and 
Remonstrants  is  to  be  rejected, — that  'the  sin  of  Adam  was  so  alien  to  us 
that  it  could  not  be  called  ours;'  for  by  God  it  could  not  be  imputed  to 
us  justly,  unless  it  was  in  some  manner  ours,  since  'the  soul  that  sinneth, 
it  shall  die.' — Ezek.  xviii.  4."* 

I  9.   The  Synod  of  Dort,  1618. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  Arminian  controversy,  the  Remonstrants  so 
veiled  their  sentiments,  on  the  subject  of  original  sin,  under  ambiguous 
forms  of  expression,  as  to  seem  in  harmony  with  the  Reformed  confes- 
sions. In  the  declaration  or  confession  which  they  laid  before  the  Synod 
of  Dort,  they  say : — 

"  Inasmuch  as  Adam  was  (stirps  et  radix)  the  germ  and  root  of  the 
whole  human  race,  he  therefore  involved  and  implicated  not  himself 
only,  but  also,  together  with  himself,  all  his  posterity,  who  (quasi  in 
lumbis  ipsius  conclusi  erant)  existed  as  it  were  in  his  loins,  and  were  to 
proceed  from  him  by  natural  generation,  in  the  same  death  and  miseries; 
so  that  all  men,  without  any  distinction,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  only 
excepted,  by  this  one  sin  of  Adam,  are  deprived  of  that  primitive 
felicity,  and  destitute  of  true  righteousness,  which  is  necessaiy  to  the 
obtaining  of  eternal  salvation,  and  are  therefore  born  subject  to  that 
death  which  we  have  mentioned,  and  also  to  many  present  miseries. 
And  this  is  commonly  called,  original  sin."f 

*  Marekii  Medulla,  Locus  vi.  36. 

f  Confcs.  Remonst.  cap.  vii.  \  4,  in  Op.  Episcopii,  Roterodami,  1G65,  vol.  ii. 


38  Introduction. 

On  this  subject,  the  Synod  says, 

"  1.  Man,  from  the  beginning,  was  created  in  the  image  of  God,  adorned 
in  his  mind  with  the  true  and  saving  knowledge  of  his  Creator  and  of 
spiritual  things,  with  righteousness  in  his  will  and  heart,  and  purity  in 
all  his  affections,  and  thus  was  altogether  holy;  but,  by  the  instigation  of 
the  devil  and  his  own  free  will,  revolting  from  God,  he  bereaved  himself 
of  these  inestimable  gifts,  and  on  the  contrary,  in  their  place,  contracted 
in  himself  blindness,  horrible  darkness,  and  perversity  of  judgment,  in 
the  mind  ;  malice,  rebellion,  hardness,  in  the  will  and  heart ;  and,  finally, 
impurity  in  all  his  affections. 

"2.  And  such  as  man  was  before  the  fall,  such  children  also  he  begat; 
namely,  being  corrupted,  corrupt  ones, — corruption  having  been  derived 
from  Adam  to  all  his  posterity,  (Christ  only  excepted,)  not  by  imitation, 
as  the  Pelagians  formerly  would  have  it,  but  by  the  propagation  of  a 
vicious  nature,  through  the  just  judgment  of  God. 

"3.  Therefore  all  men  are  conceived  in  sin  and  born  the  children  of 
wrath,  indisposed  (inepti)  to  all  saving  good,  propense  to  evil,  dead  in 
sins,  and  the  slaves  of  sin:  and,  without  the  grace  of  the  regenerating 
Holy  Spirit,  they  neither  are  willing  nor  able  to  return  to  God,  to  correct 
their  depraved  nature,  or  to  dispose  themselves  to  the  correction  of  it."* 

In  respect  to  the  confession  of  the  Remonstrants,  Turrettin  remarks 
that  "at  first  they  spake  ambiguously,  so  that  it  was  uncertain  what  posi- 
tion they  assumed.  But  afterward,  in  their  Apology,  chapter  vii.,  they 
plainly  show  themselves  to  favour  the  Socinians,  retaining,  indeed,  the 
name  of  imputation,  but  taking  away  the  thing  itself,  whilst  they  declare 
'the  sin  of  Adam  to  be  imputed  by  God  to  his  posterity:  not  ns  though 
he  held  them  to  be  really  guilty  of  the  same  sin  and  crime  with  Adam, 
but  as  he  willed  them  to  be  born,  subject  to  the  same  evil  to  which  Adam 
rendered  himself  obnoxious  by  sin.'  "f 

The  following  is  the  language  of  the  Apology  here  alluded  to,  which 
was  published  by  the  Remonstrants,  in  reply  to  a  review  of  their  Confession 
by  four  of  the  divines  of  Leyden: — 

"In  the  fourth  section  the  censor  complains  that  the  Eemonstrants  set 
forth  their  opinion  on  original  sin  ambiguously ;  for  when  they  say  that 
'  by  this  one  sin  of  Adam  his  posterity  are  all  deprived  of  that  primitive 
felicity  and  true  righteousness,'  &c,  they  do  not  mean  the  sin  of  Adam 
to  have  been  imputed  so  to  his  posterity,  as  that  in  Adam  (in  culpa  fue- 
runt)  they  were  parties  to  the  crime,  &c.  This  is  rashly  asserted.  The 
Remonstrants  have  never  said  that  they 'did  not  so  mean;  nor  are  the 
citations  from  Arminius  and  Corvinus  sufficient  to  prove  it,  nor  to  be 
ascribed  to  all  the  Remonstrants.  But  neither  the  Scriptures  nor  any 
reason  requires  that  they  should  say  this.     They  confess  that  the  sin  of 

*  Scott's  Hist.  Synod  of  Dort.     Prcsb.  Board  of  Pub.,  p.  292. 
f  Turrettini  Institutiones  Theol.,  Locus  IX.  Qu.  ix.  3. 


Historical  Sketch.  39 

Adam  may  be  said  to  be  imputed  by  God  to  his  posterity,  so  far  forth  as 
God  willed  the  posterity  of  Adam  to  be  born  obnoxious  to  the  same  evil 
to  which  Adam  rendered  himself  liable  by  sin ;  or,  in  so  far  as  God  per- 
mitted, the  evil  which  was  inflicted  upon  Adam,  as  punishment,  should 
flow  and  pass  over  to  his  posterity.  But  nothing  renders  it  necessary  for 
us  to  say  the  sin  of  Adam  to  be  so  imputed  to  his  posterity,  as  if  God 
really  considered  the  posterity  of  Adam  guilty  with  Adam  of  the  same 
sin  and  crime  which  Adam  committed.  Yea,  neither  the  Scriptures  nor 
the  truth,  wisdom  nor  goodness  of  God,  the  nature  of  sin,  nor  the  prin- 
ciples of  justice  and  equity,  permit  that  they  should  represent  the  sin  of 
Adam  to  have  been  so  imputed  to  his  posterity.  The  Scriptures  testify 
God  to  have  threatened  the  punishment  to  Adam  alone,  and  to  have 
inflicted  it  upon  Adam  only.  The  divine  goodness,  truth  and  wisdom, 
do  not  permit  that  (alienum  peccatum  alteri  proprie  imputet)  the  sin  of 
another  should  be  imputed  to  one  as  personally  his  own,  or  that  that 
should  be  imputed  (ut  proprie)  as  a  personal  thing,  which  was  not  com- 
mitted by  one's  own  will.  It  is  contrary  to  justice  and  equity  that  any 
one  should  become  guilty  on  account  of  a  sin  not  his  own ;  that  he  should 
be  judged  truly  criminal  who,  as  to  his  own  will,  is  innocent,  or,  rather, 
is  not  criminal.  .  .  . 

"Similar  is  the  next  thing  which  the  censor  says,  'Nor  by  the  priva- 
tion of  true  righteousness  do  they  mean  any  thing  to  remain  in  each  of 
the  children  of  Adam,  before  his  own  personal  action,  which  is  truly  to 
be  called  sin.'  It  is  so ;  for  who  of  a  sound  mind  will  believe  that  by  the 
privation  of  original  righteousness  there  remains  any  sin  distinct  both  from 
that  privation,  which  itself  is  held  to  be  sin,  and  from  that  sin  on  account 
of  which  the  privation  takes  place?  He  is  insane  who  is  willing  to  admit 
such  a  privation.  'But  this,'  he  says,  'is  nothing  else  than  to  deny  origi- 
nal sin  altogether,  and  only  to  recognise  a  punishment  of  sin, — by  which, 
even  in  his  posterity,  Adam  atones  for  what  he  did, — and  not  to  admit 
that  in  them  there  is  any  thing  worthy  of  abhorrence.'  Neither  is  it 
necessary  to  acknowledge  it,  nor  do  the  Remonstrants  admit  it;  nor  that 
any  thing  worthy,  properly  speaking,  of  the  hatred  of  God,  is  in  Adam's 
posterity  from  his  sin ;  nor  that,  in  the  posterity  of  Adam,  that  which  flows 
from  Adam,  the  sinner,  is  in  them  properly  called  the  punishment  of 
sin,"  &c* 

I  10.  The  Westminster  Assembly,  1G43-1G48. 

The  question  has  been  raised,  how  far  the  Westminster  Assembly  based 
the  doctrine  of  original  sin  upon  our  natural  relation  to  Adam.  And  it 
is  sometimes  asserted  that  it  is  left  entirely  out  of  the  account,  and  the 
whole  matter  referred  to  a  positive  constitution  between  God  and  Adam, 
without  which  we  would  not  have  been  responsible  for  his  sin,  and  by 


«  Apologia  pro  Conf.  Rem.  gg  84,  So;  in  Op.  Episc,  vol.  ii. 


40  Introduction. 

which  he  was  made  to  be  our  head.  In  the  early  English  editions  of  the 
Westminster  Confession, — those  of  1G58  and  after, — the  Scripture  proofs 
were  printed  in  full ;  and  the  particular  words  which  were  relied  upon 
for  the  doctrine  in  question  in  each  place,  were  put  in  Italics.  So  ar- 
ranged, Chapter  vi.  \  3,  will  illustrate  the  manner  in  which  this  subject 
was  viewed  by  the  Assembly. 

"They  [our  first  parents]  being  the  root  of  all  mankind,  the  guilt  of 
this  sin  was  imputed, (/)  and  the  same  death  in  sin  and  corrupted  nature, 
conveyed  to  all  their  posterity  descending  from  them  by  ordinary  gene- 
ration." 

"  (/)  Genesis  i.  verse  27.  So  God  created  Man  in  his  own  image,  in 
the  image  of  God  created  he  him,  male  and  female  created  he  them. 
Verse  28.  And  God  blessed  them,  and  God  said  unto  them,  Be  fruitful,  and 
multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth,  and  subdue  it,  and  have  dominion 
over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  every 
living  thing  that  moveth  upon  the  earth.  Gen.  ii.  verse  16.  And  the 
Lord  God  commanded  the  man,  saying,  Of  every  tree  of  the  garden  thou 
mayest  freely  eat.  Verse  17.  But  of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil,  thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it ;  for  in  the  day  that  thou  eatest  thereof  thou 
shalt  surely  die.  Acts  xvii.  26.  And  hath  made  of  one  Hood  all  nations  of  men, 
for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  hath  determined  the  times 
before  appointed,  and  the  bounds  of  their  habitation.  Bomans  v.  verse 
12.  Wherefore  as  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  theworld,  and  death  by  sin,  and 
so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned.  Verse  15.  But  not  as  the 
offence,  so  also  is  the  free  gift;  for  if  through  the  offence  of  one  many  be 
dead,  much  more  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  gift  by  grace,  which  is  by  one 
man,  Jesus  Christ,  hath  abounded  unto  many.  Verse  16.  And  not  as  it 
was  by  one  that  sinned,  so  is  the  gift:  for  the  judgment  was  by  one  to  condemna- 
tion, but  the  free  gift  is  of  many  offences  unto  justification.  Verse  17. 
For  if  by  one  man's  offence  death  reigned  by  one,  much  more  they  which  re- 
ceive abundance  of  grace,  and  of  the  gift  of  righteousness,  shall  reign  in 
life  by  one,  Jesus  Christ.  Verse  18.  Therefore  as  by  the  offence  of  one  judg- 
ment came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation,  even  so  by  the  righteousness  of 
one  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto  justification  of  life.  Verse  19. 
For  as  by  one  man's  disobedience  many  were  made  sinners,  so  by  the  obedience 
of  one  shall  many  be  made  righteous.  1  Cor.  xv.  verse  21.  For  since  by 
man  came  death,  by  man  came  also  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  Verse  22. 
For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive.  Verse 
45.  And  so  it  is  written,  The  first  man  Adam  teas  made  a  living  soul,  the  last 
Adam  was  made  a  quickening  spirit.  Verse  49.  And  as  we  have  borne 
the  image  of  the  earthy,  we  shall  also  bear  the  image  of  the  heavenly." 

Here,  the  reason  formally  given  for  the  imputation  of  Adam's  sin  to 
his  posterity,  is,  the  fact  that  he  was  "the  root  of  mankind."  Of  this 
statement  the  Italics  in  the  proof  texts  constitute  a  most  significant  ex- 


Historical  Sketch.  41 

position.  They  identify  and  bring  into  one  view,  in  the  narrative  of  the 
creation,  the  generic  title,  "man,"  the  generative  relations,  "male  and  fe- 
male," and  the  plurality  of  the  race,  "them."  And  then,  after  the  blessing 
of  fruitfulness  and  consequent  dominion  over  the  whole  earth,  and  the 
precept  which  was  the  test  of  obedience,  all  is  bound  firmly  together  and 
laid  upon  the  race,  by  the  declaration  that  all  are  "one  blood;"  constituting 
the  basis  upon  which  is  immediately  founded  the  charge  that  in  Adam 
"all  have  sinned." 

Identical  with  this  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Catechisms.  See  the  Larger 
Catechism,  Qu.  22,  25,  26  ;  Shorter,  Qu.  10-19. 

In  addition  to  the  Confession  and  Catechisms,  the  Assembly  put  forth 
an  epitome,  bearing  the  title, — "A  Brief  Sum  of  Christian  Doctrine,  con- 
tained in  Holy  Scripture,  and  holden  forth  in  the  Confession  of  Faith 
and  Catechisms.  Agreed  upon  by  the  Assembly  of  Divines  at  West- 
minster, and  received  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland. 
With  the  Practical  Use  thereof."*  In  this  formula,  the  doctrine  of  ori- 
ginal sin  is  stated  in  these  terms: — 

Head  I.  \  2.  "God  in  six  days  made  all  things  of  nothing,  very  good  in 
their  own  kind,  in  special  he  made  all  the  angels  holy:  and  made  our 
first  parents  Adam  and  Eve,  the  root  of  mankind,  both  upright  and  able 
to  keep  the  law  written  in  their  heart:  which  law  they  were  naturally 
bound  to  obey,  under  pain  of  death ;  but  God  was  not  bound  to  reward 
their  service,  till  he  entered  into  a  covenant  or  contract  with  them,  and 
their  posterity  in  them,  to  give  them  eternal  life  upon  condition  of  perfect 
personal  obedience,  withal  threatening  death,  in  case  they  should  fail. 

"3.  Both  angels  and  men  were  subject  to  the  change  of  their  own  free 
will,  as  experience  proved,  God  having  reserved  to  himself  the  incommu- 
nicable property  of  being  naturally  unchangeable.  For  many  angels  of 
their  own  accord  fell  by  sin  from  their  first  estate,  and  became  devils : 
Our  first  parents  being  inticed  by  Satan,  one  of  these  devils,  speaking  in 
a  serpent,  did  break  the  covenant  of  works,  in  eating  the  forbidden  fruit, 
whereby  they  and  their  posterity,  being  in  their  loins,  as  branches  in  the 
root,  and  comprehended  in  the  same  covenant  with  them,  became  not 
only  liable  to  eternal  death,  but  also  lost  all  ability  of  will  to  please  God; 
yea,  did  become  by  nature  enemies  to  God,  and  to  all  spiritual  good;  and 
inclined  to  evil  continually.  This  is  our  original  sin,  the  bitter  root  of 
all  our  actual  transgressions,  in  thought,  word  and  deed." 

\  11.  Divines  of  the  Westminster  Confession. 
Dr.   Thomas  Goodwin  was  one  of  the  ablest  members  of    the  West- 
minster Assembly,  belonging  to   the  party  of   the  Independents,  who 

*  Although  the  Brief  Sum  is  by  the  Church  of  Scotland  received,  with  the  other  for- 
mularies of  the  Assembly  of  Divines,  among  her  symbolical  books,  the  fact  that  tho 
work  was  the  production  of  the  Assembly,  is  not,  I  believe,  usually  stated  in  Scotch  edi- 
tions.    My  copy  is  the  fifth  London  edition,  of  1717. 


42  Introduction. 

harmonized  perfectly  with  the  other  members  on  the  doctrines  of  the 
confession.  Of  his  works  in  folio,  the  third  volume  consists  of  three 
treatises  : — 1.  Of  an  Unregenerate  Man's  Guiltiness  before  God,  in  respect 
of  Sin  and  Punishment ;  2.  Of  Man's  Kestauration  by  Grace ;  3.  Of 
Christ,  the  Mediator.  In  the  first  of  these  he  enters  very  fully  into  the 
subject  of  original  sin.  In  respect  to  the  mode  in  which  Adam  came  to 
be  our  representative,  he  speaks  as  follows: — 

"  There  are  three  ways  by  which  it  may  be  conceived  or  understood 
that  he  was  a  public  person  : 

"  1.  By  the  absolute  prerogative  of  God,  resolving  it  wholly  into  his 
own  secret  ordination  and  appointment  of  him  so  to  be.  Thus  some. 
But  this  cuts  the  knot,  indeed,  but  unties  it  not :  and  I  dare  not  wholly 
put  it  on  that  account.  The  covenant  with  Adam,  both  for  himself  and 
us,  was  the  covenant  of  nature,  as  I  have  shown :  and  it  were  hard  to 
say  that,  in  such  a  covenant,  he  should  use  his  prerogative  alone  ;  and, 
in  some  respects,  this  was  higher  (if  we  suppose  it  such)  than  that  with 
Christ,  with  whom  he  dealt  distinctly,  fully  making  known  to  him  all 
things  that  concerned  that  covenant,  which  he  also  voluntarily  undertook 
for  to  his  Father,  as  in  that  place  cited  in  Isaiah  (Isa.  xlix.  1-8)  and 
also  here  appears. 

"  2.  A  second  way,  therefore,  is  when  it  is  by  a  covenant ;  and  that,  so, 
as  though  God's  will  to  have  it  so  that  he  should  represent  us,  was  the 
main  foundation  it  should  be  resolved  into,  yet  so  as  withal,  God  should 
plainly  utter  this,  and  declare  it  aforehand  to  him,  as  he  did  to  Christ, 
in  that  place  of  Isaiah,  '  I  will  give  thee  for  a  covenant  to  the  Gentiles,' 
&c.  Now  there  is  no  such  record  of  this,  more  than  what  hath  been 
mentioned  in  the  former  answer,  now  extant  I  know  of,  whereby  God 
declared  he  would  constitute  him  such,  or  laid  it  exj^licitly  upon  him, 
otherwise  than  in  those  particulars  which  yet  I  confess  by  just  and  like 
reason  do  infer  it ;  so  as  I  would  not  wholly  put  it  upon  that  account 
neither ;  for  we  read  not  of  God's  saying  this  to  him  in  distinct  words, 
nor  of  his  accepting  or  undertaking  so  to  be,  namely,  a  public  person, 
that,  if  he  sinned,  his  posterity  should  sin  in  him.     Therefore, 

"3.  I  should  think  it  to  be  mixed  of  the  two  latter:  both  that  God 
made  him,  or  appointed  him  to  be,  a  public  person,  as  1  Cor.  xv.'45,  (see 
my  exposition  on  those  words,)  yet  not  so  out  of  mere  will,  but  that  it 
also  had  for  its  foundation,  so  natural  and  so  necessary  a  ground  as  it  was 
rather  a  natural  than  a  voluntary  thing.  And  necessary  it  was  he  should 
be  so  appointed,  if  the  law  of  nature  were  attainted.  And  to  assert  this 
I  am  induced,  among  other  grounds,  by  that  which,  in  handling  the 
state  of  Adam  in  innocency,  I  then  pursued.  That  this  covenant  was  a 
natural  covenant,  and  such  as,  according  to  the  law  of  his  creation,  was 
due  and  requisite,  and  founded  uj>on,  and  consonant  to,  the  princij:>les 
of  nature;  and  therefore  I  judge  this  law  concerning  the  propagation  of 
man's  nature  to  his  posterity  to  be  such,  and  that  God  did  not  put  forth 


Historical  Sketch.  43 

his  prerogative  in  giving  forth  this  alone  ;  but  that,  it  being  a  part  of  his 
covenant  by  the  law  of  nature,  it  was  therefore  so  well  known  to  him. 
by  the  light  and  law  of  nature,  that  he  needed  not  have  it  given  him  by 
word  of  mouth  ;  though  in  those  forementioned  charters,  common  to  him 
and  his  posterity,  of  having  dominion  over  the  creatures,  and  begetting 
in  his  likeness  or  kind,  it  was  sufficiently  held  forth;  and  so  as  that 
threatening  was  to  be  understood  in  the  same  manner  by  him,  '  That  day 
thou  eatest,  thou  shalt  die ;'  wherein  all  mankind  are  not  only  meant, 
but  expressed  by  the  same  law  that  they  are  in  those  words,  '  Subdue  the 
earth.' — Gen.  i.  28.  '  And  God  blessed  them,  and  God  said  unto  them,  Be 
fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth,  and  subdue  it,  and  have 
dominion  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowls  of  the  air,  and  over 
every  living  thing  that  moveth  upon  the  earth  ;'  which  are  spoken  to 
Adam  immediately,  and  yet  meant  of  his  posterity.  And  it  is  certain, 
that,  in  respect  of  conveying  all  that  which  was  good,  he  was  a  common 
person,  as  in  that  of  conveying  a  lordship  over  the  creatures,  a  covenant 
of  life  to  them,  &e. ;  and,  by  the  same  reason,  he  was  a  common  person  to 
convey  sin  too.  And,  truly,  those  words,  that  we  are  said  to  be  '  children 
of  wrath'  by  nature,  I  understand  not  only,  though  so  too,  by  birth,  but 
even  to  extend  to  this  sense, — by  the  law  of  nature.  See  my  expo- 
sition on  those  words. 

"Now  the  natural  necessity,  upon  which  this  designation  of  him  to  be 
a  public  person  was  made,  is  this :  God  had,  as  author  of  nature,  made 
this  the  law  of  nature, — That  man  should  beget  in  his  own  image  or 
likeness;  look  [like?]  what  it  should  prove  to  be  either  through  his 
standing  or  falling,  afore  he  puts  this  nature  out  of  his  hands ;  and  this 
law  is,  in  their  kind,  common  to  beasts.  So,  then,  in  this  first  man,  the 
whole  nature  of  man  being  reposited  as  a  common  receptacle  or  cistern 
of  it,  from  whence  it  was  to  flow  to  others  ;  therefore,  what  befalls  this 
nature  in  him  by  any  action  of  his,  that  nature  is  so  to  be  projiagated 
from  him.  God's  ordinance,  in  the  law  of  nature,  being — that  all  should 
be  made  of  'one  blood,'  which  could  not  have  been  said  of  any  other 
man  than  of  him,  (no,  not  of  Noah,  because  of  the  mixture  marriages 
afore  with  the  posterity  of  Cain.)  And  thus,  also,  man's  condition  dif- 
fered from  that  of  the  angels,  of  whom  each  stood  as  single  persons  by 
themselves,  being  all  and  each  of  them  created  by  God  immediately,  as 
even  Adam,  the  first  man,  himself  was.  But  all  men  universally,  by  the 
law  of  nature,  were  to  receive  their  nature  from  him  in  his  likeness  ; 
that  is,  if  he  stood  and  obeyed,  then  the  image  of  holiness  had  been 
conveyed,  as  it  was  at  first  created.  If  he  fell  by  sin,  then,  seeing  he 
should  thereby  corrupt  that  nature,  and  that  that  corruption  of  nature 
was  also  to  be  his  sin  in  relation  to,  and  as  the  consequent  of,  that  act  of 
sin  that  caused  it:  therefore,  if  the  law  of  nature  were  ever  fulfilled  so 
as  to  convey  his  own  image  as  sinful,  (suppose  he  should  sin,)  so  as  it 
should  be  reckoned  sin  in  his  children,  as  it  was  in  himself,  this  could 


44  Introduction. 

not  take  place,  but  they  must  be  guilty  of  that  act  that  caused  it,  so  far  as 
it  cast  [caused  ?]  it,  as  well  as  himself.  If  indeed  any  way  could  have  been 
supposed  how  he  might  have  been  bereft  of  that  holiness  he  was  created 
in,  without  a  precedaneous  act  of  sinning,  as  the  cause,  then  indeed  we 
might  have  said  that  privation  of  holiness  should  not  have  been  reckoned 
sin,  either  to  himself  nor  to  his  posterity,  in  that  case.  This  corruption 
of  nature,  or  want  of  original  righteousness,  in  such  case  would  not  have 
been,  nor  could  not  have  been,  accounted  a  sin,  (a  punishment  it  might,) 
but  it  comes  only  to  be  a  sin  as  it  referreth  to,  and  is  connected  with, 
the  guilt  of  an  act  of  sin  that  caused  that  corruption  of  nature.  If, 
therefore,  that  corruption  became  truly  and  properly  a  sin  in  them  as 
well  as  in  him,  (and  else  it  hath  not  the  formate  of  his  image,)  he  must, 
necessarily,  be  constituted  a  public  person,  representing  them  even  in 
respect  of  that  act  of  sin,  which  should  thus  first  infect  and  pollute  their 
nature  in  him  ;  or  else  the  law  of  nature  will  not,  in  this  respect,  have 
its  due  effect.  For  that  which  makes  it  a  sin  is  not  the  want  of  it 
simply,  but  as  relating  to  a  forfeiture  and  losing  of  it  by  some  act  those 
are  first  guilty  of  who  lose  it.  Hence,  therefore,  (I  repeat  the  force  of 
my  reason  again,)  if  he  will  convey  this  image  acquired  by  his  sin  as  sivfut, 
there  must  be  a  guilt  of  that  act  of  his  sin,  which  was  the  cause  of  it ; 
and  therefore  he  must  be  a  public  person  in  that  first  act  of  sin,  so  as 
without  this,  as  the  case  stood,  the  law  of  nature  could  not  have  had  its 
course."* 

We  might  further  quote  largely  from  this  writer  to  the  same  purpose. 
He  everywhere  insists  that  the  sin  of  Adam  is  so  ours  as  to  require  of  us 
contrition  for  it;  and  devotes  an  entire  chapter  to  urge  this  duty. 

Whilst  the  Westminster  Assembly  was  in  session,  fifty-eight  of  the  most 
eminent  pastors  of  the  city  of  London,  all  of  them  Presbyterians,  and  of 
whom  seventeen  were  members  of  the  Assembly,  published  a  "  Testimony 
to  the  truth  of  Jesus  Christ,"  and  in  opposition  to  the  prevailing  errors. 
Dr.  William  Lyford,  who  had  been  called,  but  prevented  by  disease  from 
attending  upon  the  Assembly,  commenced  the  preparation  of  a  work 
designed  as  "a  discovery  of  the  errors,  heresies  and  blasphemies  of  these 
times,  and  the  toleration  of  them,  as  they  are  collected  and  testified  against 
by  the  ministers  of  London."  The  increase  of  his  disease  put  an  end  to 
this  work  when  but  partly  completed.  On  the  subject  of  our  relation  to 
Adam's  sin,  this  writer  says  that  "No  man  is  cast  into  hell  for  Adam's 
sin,  himself  being  innocent;  but  in  Adam  we  all  sinned.  No  man  dies 
of  another's  disease ;  but,  if  we  are  infected  with  the  same,  we  die  of  our 
own  disease.  The  prophet  Ezekiel  says  (ch.  xviii.)  that  'the  just  child 
of  a  wicked  father  shall  live:  if  he  seeth  all  that  his  father  hath  done,  and 
considereth,  and  doth  not  the  like,  he  shall  surely  live,' — ver.  14-17 ;  but 
if  the  son  commit  the  like  sins  as  the  father  did,  then  'they  shall  bear 

*  Goodwin's  Works,  folio,  London,  1092,  vol.  iii.  p.  14. 


Historical  Sketch.  45 

their  own  iniquity.' — Ver.  13.  This  is  our  case  in  relation  to  Adam;  we 
are  all  wicked  sons  of  a  wicked  father.  There  is  none  of  us  that  doeth 
good  ;  no,  not  one.  All  Adam's  sons  are  wrapped  in  his  sin ;  all  are  under 
that  common  guilt.  Bring  forth  a  clean  son  out  of  Adam's  loins,  and  he 
shall  live.  There  is  duplex  reatus,  prqprius,  et  communis.  I  am  guilty  of 
some  sins,  which  another  is  not ;  and  another  is  guilty  of  sins,  which  I  am 
not:  we  have  our  proper  faults.  But  this  one  offence,  of  which  Paul 
speaks,  (Rom.  v.  12,  16,  19,)  involves  us  all  in  one  common  guilt.  By  it, 
all  of  us,  being  in  Adam's  loins,  are  alike  guilty;  and,  therefore,  even  by 
that  rule, — 'The  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die,' — we  must  all  die,  because 
we  all  have  sinned.  'Sicut  omnium  hominum  natura,  ita  etiam  omnium 
voluntas,  originaliter  fuit  in  Adamo.'"* 

We  shall  hereafter  see  the  testimony  of  Rutherford,  a  member  of  the 
Assembly,  of  Poole,  of  Owen,  and  of  Dickinson  ;  in  harmony  with  Pa- 
rseus,  Witsius,  De  Moor,  and  Hoornbeek.f  To  these  we  will  only  here 
add  that  of  Boston.  "1  shall  show  how  Adam's  sin  of  breaking  the 
covenant  of  works  is  our  sin, — our  breaking  of  it  as  well  as  his.  It  is  really 
ours  in  itself.  It  is  not  ours  in  its  effects  onljr,  as  a  father's  sin  in  riotously 
spending  his  estate  reaches  his  whole  family,  reducing  them  to  poverty  and 
want.  Though  the  effects  of  that  riotous  spending — the  poverty,  misery  and 
want — are  theirs,  yet  the  riotous  spending  is  the  father's  only.  But  so  it  is 
not  in  this  case.  It  is  true,  the  effects  of  it — the  sinful  and  penal  evils  fol- 
lowing this  sin— are  ours ;  we  see  them,  we  feel  them,  and  the  most  stupid 
groan  under  them.  But  the  sin  itself  is  ours,  too;  and, — (1.)  The  guilt  of  it 
is  ours.  .  .  .  (2.)  The  fault  is  ours, — Rom.  v.  12: — 'By  one  man  sin  entered 
the  world,  and  death  by  sin ;  and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all 
have  sinned;'  namely,  in  Adam.  The  fault  lies  in  its  contrariety  to  the 
holy  commandment:  this  made  it  a  faulty  deed,  a  criminal  action,  a  sin 
against  God ;  and,  as  such,  it  is  ours.  We  in  Adam  transgressed  the  law, 
— broke  through  the  hedge, — and  so  broke  the  covenant.  If  the  fault 
wen'  not  ours,  a  holy  God  would  never  punish  us  for  it;  but  certain  it  is 
that  he  does  punish  the  children  of  Adam  for  it.  Rom.  v.  14: — 'Deatb 
reigned  from  Adam  to  Moses,  even  over  them  that  had  not  sinned  after 
the  similitude  of  Adam's  transgression.'  .  .  .  (3.)  The  stain  and  blot  of  it  is 
ours.  The  whole  nature  of  man  was  tainted  with  it, — vitiated  and  black- 
ened :  and,  through  defilement  and  loathsomeness  thereby,  rendered 
incapable  of.  and  quite  unfit  for,  communion  with  God.  (Gen.  iii.  24.) 
This  sin  defiled  the  whole  mass  of  man's  nature,  from  our  father  Adam 
going  through  all  his  posterity,  like  leaven  through  the  whole  lump. 


*  The  Instructed  Christian;  or,  The  Plain  Man's  Senses  Exercised  to  Discern  both 
Good  and  Evil.  By  AVilliam  Lyford,  B.D.,  late  minister  of  the  gospel  at  Sherbourn,  in 
the  west  of  England.     Republished:  Philadelphia,  1847,  p.  243. 

f  See  below,  pp.  443,  468,   171,  482,  505,  506.  5M7. 


46  Introduction. 

1  Cor.  xv.  22: — 'In  Adam  all  die;'  their  souls  die  spiritually:  his  whole 
race  become  as  dead  corpses."* 

\  12.   The  Ptaccean  Doctrine. 

The  doctrine  which  is  known  under  the  designation  of  mediate  impu- 
tation, originated  with  Joshua  de  la  Place,  more  commonly  called,  Placseus, 
— a  professor  in  the  French  Eeformed  seminary  of  theology  at  Saumur. 
Placseus  at  first  taught  that  original  sin  consists  solely  in  the  native 
depravity  which  we  derive  from  Adam.  This  opinion  was  condemned 
by  the  National  Synod  of  the  French  Eeformed  church,  in  1645.  "Pla- 
cseus, however,  contended  that  the  decree  of  the  Synod  did  not  have 
reference  to  him;  and,  among  other  reasons  for  this,  especially,  that  he 
did  not  deny  absolutely  the  imputation  of  Adam's  sin,  but  only  a  certain 
mode  of  it ; — he  denied  immediate  and  recognised  mediate  imputation ; 
that,  native  corruption  intervening,  we  are  subjected  to  all  the  punish- 
ments of  sin,  which  Adam  deserved  by  transgression,  and  by  contracting 
habitual  corruption  through  the  first  actual  sin.  He  held  original  corrup- 
tion to  be  inherent  in  us,  through  the  ordinary  generation  of  our  nature 
from  Adam,  according  to  the  law  of  nature,  by  which  like  begets  like; 
whence,  from  parents  corrupt,  and  destitute  of  original  righteousness  and 
holiness,  corrupt  children  must  be  born.  'This  being  agreed,'  says  Pla- 
cseus, 'imputation  is  to  be  distinguished  into  immediate  or  antecedent, 
and  mediate  or  consequent.  The  one  takes  place  immediately ;  that  is, 
corruption  of  nature  not  intervening; — the  other,  mediately;  that  is,  cor- 
ruption intervening.  The  one,  in  the  order  of  nature,  precedes  the  cor- 
ruption ;  the  other  follows  it.  The  former  is  regarded  as  the  cause  of  the 
corruption;  the  latter,  its  effect.  The  former  Placseus  rejects;  the  other 
he  admits.'  "f 

His  doctrine  was  promulgated  by  Placseus  whilst  the  Westminster 
Assembly  was  in  actual  session.  In  fact,  it  was  not  until  it  had  been 
dissolved  six  years,  that,  in  1655,  he  published  the  treatise  in  which 
he  retreats  behind  the  figment  of  mediate  imputation.  It  is  not  impro- 
bable that  the  discussion  at  the  time  going  on  in  France  induced  the  As- 
sembly to  give  a  more  precise  enunciation  of  the  doctrine  of  original  sin 
imputed,  than  is  to  be  found  in  any  other  Protestant  confession. 

It  was  in  reference  to  the  errors  of  Placseus,  and  those  of  Amyraut  and 
Cappel,  professors  in  the  same  institution,  at  Saumur,  that  the  Formula 
Consensus  Helvetica  was  drawn  up  and  published.  In  this  testimony  the 
Swiss  theologians  repudiate  the  Placsean  doctrine  in  the  following  terms. 

"As  God  made  the  covenant  of  works  with  Adam,  not  only  for  himself, 
but,  in  him  as  the  head  and  root,  with  the  whole  human  race,  about  to 
descend  from  him  by  virtue  of  the  blessing  upon  his  nature ;  and  to  iri- 

*  Boston  on  the  Covenant  of  Works.     Head  iii.  2. 

f  De  Moorus,  Com.  in  J.  Marck.    Lugd.  Batav.  17C5.    Cap.  xv.  \  32.    Pars  iii.  p.  263. 


Historical  Sketch.  47 

herit  the  same  rectitude  had  he  persisted  in  it ;  so  Adam,  in  his  grievous 
fall,  sinned  not  only  for  himself,  but  also  for  the  whole  human  race  which 
should  be  born  of  blood  and  the  will  of  the  flesh,  and  forfeited  the  gifts 
promised  in  the  covenant.  We  therefore  hold  the  sin  of  Adam  to  be 
imputed  to  all  his  posterity  by  the  secret  and  just  judgment  of  God.  For 
the  apostle  testifies  that  'in  Adam  all  have  sinned;'  that  'by  the  dis- 
obedience of  one  many  were  made  sinners;'  and,  that  'in  him  all  die.' 
— Rom.  v.  12,  19 ;  1  Cor.  xv.  21,  22.  Nor  indeed  does  any  mode  appear 
in  which  hereditary  corruption,  as  well  as  spiritual  death,  could  seize  upon 
the  whole  human  race,  by  the  just  judgment  of  God,  unless  some  crime 
of  the  same  human  race  had  preceded,  inducing  the  guilt  of  that  death ; 
since  God,  the  just  judge  of  all  the  earth,  will  punish  none  (nisi  sontem) 
except  the  criminal. 

"  After  sin,  therefore,  a  man  by  nature,  and  hence  from  his  origin,  is 
subject  to  the  wrath  and  curse  of  God  upon  a  double  charge,  before  he 
has  in  his  own  person  committed  any  actual  sin;  first,  on  account  of  the 
(7rapd7TTu/j.a)  transgression  and  disobedience  which  he  committed  in  the 
loins  of  Adam  ;  and  then  for  the  consequent  hereditary  depravity,  infused 
in  his  very  conception,  by  which  his  whole  nature  is  depraved,  and  spi- 
ritually dead ;  thus,  therefore,  as  is  truly  asserted,  original  sin  is  twofold; 
to  wit,  imputed,  and  hereditary  inherent." 

|  13.  The  System,  of  Edwards. 

In  the  following  pages  we  shall  have  occasion  to  notice  particularly 
several  elements  of  the  system  of  Edwards.  Fundamental  to  the  whole, 
were  his  doctrines  respecting  second  causes  and  identity.  On  the  former 
subject,  denying  the  creatures  to  have  in  them  any  other  causative  force 
than  the  immediate  power  of  God,  or  any  other  kind  of  existence  than 
such  as  is  consistent  with  continual  evanition  and  new  creation  out  of 
nothing, — he  was  shut  up  to  his  doctrine  of  identity,  as  the  necessary 
result;  to  wit,  that  there  is  really  no  true  identity,  in  any  case,  between 
things  which  exist  in  different  time  and  place, — the  moon  or  the  person 
that  now  is,  with  that  which  was  a  moment  since ; — that  the  only  identity 
possible  is  that  which  arises  from  the  mere  arbitrary  will  of  God,  deter- 
mining that  such  and  such  things  shall  be  held  to  be  one. 

The  doctrine  of  imputation  held  by  Edwards  is  logically  irreconcilable 
with  this  theory  of  identity.  If  the  only  oneness  that  is  possible  is  such 
as  results  from  the  arbitrary  sovereignty  of  God  "  making  truth"  out  of  an 
untruth,  and  if  by  that  power  we  are  "constituted"  truly  one  with  Adam, 
then  manifestly  we  are  as  really  and  personally  the  parties  that  plucked 
and  ate,  as  were  they  who  after  the  transgression  heard  the  voice  of  God, 
and  fled  from  his  presence.  But  the  moral  nature  of  Edwards,  true  to 
itself,  although  betrayed  by  his  philosophy,  revolted  from  this  conclusion. 
Having  assumed  the  very  position  of  Abelard,  he  attempts  to  fortify  it 
by  recourse  to  the  aid  of  Placaeus. — By  an  "arbitrary  constitution"  God 


48  Introduction. 

has  made  us  one  with  Adam  the  sinner.  Hence  his  sin  is  truly  and  per- 
sonally ours,  and  justly  chargeable  to  us ; — especially,  since  we  are  guilty 
of  endorsing  the  deed  by  the  actings  of  our  own  depravity.  But  why  the 
"especially"?  If  I  did  the  deed,  no  after  fact  can  make  it  mine  any 
more  or  less  than  it  is  already. 

Two  other  doctrines  occupied  conspicuous  places  in  the  theology  of 
Edwards.  The  first  is,  that  all  holiness  or  virtue  consists  in  disinterested 
benevolence;  or,  as  expressed  by  Edwards,  in  "love  to  being  as  such;" 
and  all  sin,  in  selfishness.  The  second  grows  out  of  this,  and  is  the  opti- 
mistic theory.  If  holiness  consists  in  disinterested  benevolence,  then 
God,  as  a  holy  being,  was  bound,  when  he  created  the  universe,  to  bring 
into  existence  the  best  possible  system, — that  which  will  secure  the  great- 
est happiness  to  the  greatest  number. 

These  were  the  principles  which — engrafted  by  Edwards  into  the 
theology  of  the  pilgrims — at  once  developed  the  system  which,  in  its 
various  phases,  was  propagated  by  Hopkins,  Smalley,  the  younger  Ed- 
wards, Emmons,  and  their  associates.  The  logical  process  was  brief  and 
simple,  and  the  conclusions  inevitable : — If  the  creatures  be  no  causes, — 
if  God  is  the  immediate  and  only  cause,  he  is  the  sole  cause  of  sin,  both 
in  Adam  and  us.  If  there  be  no  powers  in  man's  nature, — if  the  phe- 
nomena of  his  existence  and  actions  are  the  immediate  effects  of  the 
power  of  God,— there  can  be  no  native  tendencies  or  dispositions,  of  which 
to  predicate  holiness  or  sin  ;  these  can  consist  in  nothing  but  acts.  If 
Adam's  nature  is  not  a  cause  of  his  posterity,  it  cannot  be  the  caus.e  of 
their  depravity:  God,  the  only  cause,  produces  it  in  them.  If  there  is 
no  real  identity  possible  in  things  which  exist  in  different  time  and  place, 
— if  we  are  one  with  Adam  only  by  "  constitution"  and  legal  intend- 
ment,— then  his  sin  is,  in  no  sense,  really  ours  ;  and  justice  cannot  exact 
its  penalty  of  us.  God  may,  in  sovereignty,  act  toward  us  as  he  would 
toward  sinners ;  but  the  inflictions  with  which  we  are  visited,  in  conse- 
quence of  Adam's  sin,  are  not  of  a  punitive  character.  Again  :  for  the 
same  reason,  Christ  could  not  so  unite  himself  with  our  race,  as  to  be 
held  really  accountable  for  our  sins,  or  truly  responsible  to  the  penalty. 
Nor,  on  the  other  hand,  can  we  be  so  united  to  him  as  to  acquire  any 
truly  proprietary  title  in  his  righteousness.  The  consequence  is,  that 
Christ's  atonement  is  denied  any  strictly  vicarious  character  ; — it  was  a 
governmental  display,  not  a  satisfaction  ;  it  was  made  for  sins  in  general, 
and  not  specifically  for  the  sins  of  his  people ;  and  his  work  was  not 
determinate  of  the  redemption  of  any  one,  but  only  opened  the  way  for 
the  salvation  of  those  who  shall  believe.  Such  were  the  positions  of 
the  earlier  disciples  of  Edwards.  They  rejected,  at  once,  his  untenable 
appeal — untenable  on  his  principles — to  the  distinction  between  a  posi- 
tive and  a  privative  cause,  to  account  for  God's  agency  in  the  production 
of  sin,  and  did  not  hesitate,  directly,  and  in  terms,  to  attribute  all  sinful 


Historical  Sketch.  49 

actions  to  the  immediate  efficient  agency  of  God.  But,  falling  back  upon 
the  optimistic  principle,  they  held  that  since  God  was  bound  to  produce 
the  best  possible  system,  and  is  a  most  powerful  and  excellent  being,  we 
are  shut  up  to  the  conclusion  that  the  present  system  is  the  best ;  and,  sin 
being  found  in  this  system,  it  is  inferred  that  sin  is  an  incident  of  the 
best  system,  and  necessary  to  it.  Sin,  therefore,  thus  viewed,  upon  the 
whole,  is  not  an  evil,  but  a  good  ;  and  hence  it  is  consistent  with  God's 
character  to  produce  it.  It  is  only  an  evil,  in  that  the  sinner  is  not 
actuated  by  any  such  apprehension  as  this,  but  by  selfish  and  malevolent 
feelings.  Retaining  the  old  forms  of  speech,  these  writers  utterly 
rejected  the  old  doctrines  of  original  sin  and  justification. 

So  stood  the  "  orthodox"  theology  of  New  England  at  the  rise  of  the 
school  of  New  Haven.  And  it  is  a  significant  fact,  that  the  first  public 
announcement  of  the  inauguration  of  a  new  school  of  theology,  by  the 
professors  in  that  institution,  addressed  a  challenge  to  the  optimists  of 
the  prevailing  school  to  justify  themselves  in  assuming  that  God  could 
prevent  all  sin  in  a  moral  system.*  Thus  did  the  revolting  fatalism 
which  was  involved  in  Edwards'  theory  of  causation  induce  a  recoil  to 
the  opposite  extreme,  in  the  assertion  of  Pelagian  free  will.  The 
divines  of  New  Haven  found,  in  the  very  heart  of  Edwards'  system, 
some  of  the  fundamental  and  most  fruitful  features  of  the  doctrine  of 
Pelagius  : — that  Adam  was  not  the  cause  of  his  posterity  ; — that,  of  con- 
sequence, they  were  not  really,  in  him,  in  the  covenant ; — that  his  sin  is 
not  theirs,  nor  its  punishment  visited  on  them  ; — that  depravity  is  not 
derived  from  Adam  to  his  posterity ; — and  that  sin  consists  in  exercise 
or  action.  Accepting  these  as  unquestionable  principles,  and  recoiling, 
with  just  abhorrence,  from  the  idea  that  God  is  the  author  of  men's  sins, 
they  adopted  the  other  alternative  deducible  from  the  premises,  and 
concluded  that  men  are  created  without  moral  character,  and  that  their 
depravity  is  the  result  of  example  and  circumstances.  Boldly  repu- 
diating the  system  of  constituted  relations  and  fictitious  intendments, 
by  which  the  Hopkinsians  had  maintained  a  semblance  of  orthodoxy, 
they  utterly  denied  any  federal  union  between  us  and  Adam,  or  any 
vicarious  relation  of  Christ  to  his  people.  Every  man  comes  into  the 
world  in  the  same  moral  and  legal  attitude  as  did  Adam.  Each  one  sins 
and  falls  by  his  own  free  will.  Christ  died,  not  as  a  legal  substitute  for 
us, — a  vicarious  satisfaction  for  our  sins, — but  as  an  exhibition  of  the 
love  of  God  to  sinners,  and  a  display  of  the  evil  of  sin  ;  so  that  God 
may,  consistently  with  the  welfare  of  the  universe,  forgive  sin.  The 
sinner  is  pardoned,  not  justified  ; — sin  is  forgiven,  not  taken  away; — and 
justice  is  waived,  not  satisfied.  Again,  supposing  man's  free  will  compe- 
tent to  sin  in  spite  of  God,  it  follows  that  the  same  power  can  cease  to 

*  Taylor's  Concio  ad  Clerum,  1828,  p.  29. 
4 


50  Introduction. 

sin,  independent  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Eegeneration  is  therefore  the 
effect  of  moral  suasion  calling  into  exercise  the  unaided  powers  of  man's 
own  will. 

There  are  probably  few  who  would  now  be  willing  to  adopt,  in  its  abstract 
form,  the  theory  of  identity  which  is  fundamental  to  the  system  of 
Edwards.  But  by  many  it  is  accepted  in  its  application  to  the  doctrine 
of  original  sin, — the  very  case  for  which  it  was  invented.  By  them  it  is 
maintained  that  we  are  not,  in  any  real  sense,  one  with  Adam  ;  but,  by 
a  positive  constitution,  God  has  so  ordered  it  that  we  are  regarded  and 
treated  as  one.*  And  yet,  with  all,  we  are  no  more  intrinsically  one  with 
him,  nor  chargeable  with  his  crime,  than  we  were  before.  We  are  only 
held  liable  to  undergo  punishment  on  account  of  it.  That  punishment 
consists  in  the  privation  of  original  righteousness,  and  the  consequent 
depravation  of  the  soul.  How  much  more  this  view  harmonizes  with 
that  of  Abelard  and  the  schoolmen  than  with  the  Eeformed  confessions 
a  glance  will  demonstrate.  How  foreign  to  the  latter,  is  manifest.  In 
those  confessions,  from  the  first  to  the  last,  we  search  in  vain  for  a  trace 
of  the  positive  constitution  here  imagined,  or  a  hint  that  the  depravity 
of  the  race  came  upon  it  as  the  punishment  of  a  foreign  sin.  On  the 
contrary,  they  are  unanimous  in  the  testimony  that  not  Adam  but  man 
sinned  in  the  act  of  disobedience,  and,  by  the  effects  of  the  sin,  was 
depraved ; — that  the  race,  generically,  apostatized  from  holiness,  and 
embraced  depravity,  in  the  person  of  Adam.  In  particular,  the  West- 
minster Confession,  written  when  the  Placsean  controversy  induced 
special  care  on  these  very  points,  knows  nothing  of  the  constructive 
system  ;  but  bases  all  its  positions  on  our  seminal  inbeing  in  Adam  ;  and, 
discriminating  carefully  between  the  criminal  and  the  penal  elements 
of  Adam's  sin,  includes  in  the  former  the  want  of  original  righteousness 
and  the  corruption  of  nature ;  and  charges  the  whole  immediately  upon 
us  as  elements  of  the  sinfulness  of  that  estate  into  which  we  fell  by 
sinning  in  Adam ;  whilst  all  this  is  excluded  from  any  place  in  the 
penal  element, — the  miseries  incurred. 

We  venerate  the  memory  of  Edwards ;  and  esteem  and  love  many  of 
the  disciples  of  his  theology.  But  the  history  of  a  century  confirms  the 
conviction  resulting  from  a  priori  considerations,  that  the  principles  of 
his  system  are  irreconcilably  hostile  to  the  doctrines  of  grace  which  he 
loved ;  and  must  operate,  as  heretofore,  so  always,  to  corrupt  and  destroy 
them. 

*  "  What  exists  at  this  moment  ...  is  a  new  effect,  and,  simply  and  absolutely  con- 
sidered, not  the  same  with  any  past  effect.  .  .  .  And  there  is  no  identity  or  oneness,  in 
the  case,  but  what  depends  on  the  arbitrary  constitution  of  the  Creator;  who,  by  his 
wise  sovereign  establishment,  so  unites  these  successive  new  effects  that  he  treats  them 
as  one,  by  communicating  to  them  like  properties,  relations  and  circumstances ;  and  so 
leads  us  to  regard  and  treat  them  as  one." — Edwards  on  Original  Sin,  Part  iv.  ch.  2. 


THE 


ELOHIM  REVEALED. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    TRIUNE    CREATOR. 

"In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth." 
With  this  announcement  the  Spirit  of  God  commences  the  sacred 
a  l.  God  the  volume.  He  is  about  to  put  upon  permanent  record 
Triune  was  the  a  revelation,  intended  to  answer  all  those  questions 
Creator.  which  spontaneously  spring,  in  the  depths  of  the 

human  soul,  concerning  our  highest  and  eternal  interests, — a 
revelation  respecting  the  nature  of  God,  the  cause  and  the  re- 
medy of  our  ruinous  estate,  the  purpose  for  which  life  is  given, 
the  immortality  of  man,  and  the  alternative  states  of  eternity, — 
themes  which  have  perplexed  and  bewildered  philosophers  and 
sages  in  every  age.  The  first  line  of  the  first  page  of  this  blessed 
book  announces  Him,  whose  nature  and  whose  works  are  the 
theme  of  the  whole.  It  unveils  in  sudden  light  a  glorious  One, 
whose  lustre  increases  through  every  page;  like  a  morning  sun, 
growing  continually  in  radiant  majesty,  pouring  abroad  a  flood 
of  unapproachable  glory,  alone  in  a  starless  firmament.  When 
the  student  of  the  sacred  volume  reads,  in  that  first  line,  the 
sublime  announcement, — "In  the  beginning,  God," — he,  atone 
bound,  ascends  a  height  as  far  above  that  lofty  Olympus  where 
fabled  Jove  sat  enthroned,  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the 
earth.  Thus,  taught  the  alone  eternity  of  God,  the  Creator,  and 
the  temporary  origin  of  all  things  else,  visible  and  invisible,  be 
has  already  gained  a  sublimity  of  science,  which  all  the  wisdom 

51 


52  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  i. 

and  research  of  classic  philosophy  never  attained.  Gazing  abroad 
from  this  mountain  pinnacle, — on  the  one  hand  is  nothing  but 
the  eternity  of  God;  on  the  other  is  the  creation,  just  launching 
forth  upon  cycles,  each  one  of  which  is  the  unfolding  of  a  new 
chapter,  in  the  revelation  of  the  high  and  lofty  One  who  inhabits 
that  eternity.  Before  we  attempt  to  trace  the  operations  of  his 
hand,  in  the  works  of  creation  and  the  scheme  of  providence,  we 
will  briefly  and  reverently  glance  at  some  things,  which  are  made 
known  to  us  in  the  Scriptures,  in  respect  to  the  nature  and  pur- 
poses of  the  Creator. 

The  first  point  here  claiming  our  notice  is,  that  it  is  not  merely 
God,  but  the  Triune  God,  who  is  announced  as  the  maker  of  all 
things.  We  do  not  design  to  enter  at  large  into  the  argument,  in 
proof  of  the  fact  that  the  name,  Elohim,  being  plural  in  its  form, 
is  a  distinct  intimation  of  the  plurality  which  subsists  in  the 
unity  of  the  divine  essence.  Not  only  does  the  name  itself — 
commonly,  as  in  this  place,  used  in  the  plural  number,  though 
with  a  verb  in  the  singular — point  to  that  fundamental  fact  in 
the  nature  of  Him  whom  the  creation  was  designed  to  proclaim, 
but,  in  the  26th  verse,  we  are  informed  of  a  conference  of  the 
Elohim,  in  which  it  is  said,  "Let  us  make  man,  in  our  image, 
after  our  likeness;"  and  again,  when  man  had  fallen,  "the  Lord 
God  said,  Behold,  the  man  is  become  as  one  of  us." — Gen.  iii.  22. 
In  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes,  the  preacher  admonishes  the  young, 
"Remember  now  (T?*?13)  thy  Creators." — Eccl.  xii.  1.  Says 
Elihu,  "None  saith,  Where  is  ('^  nv?x)  God  my  Makers?" — Job 
xxxv.  10, — thus  using  the  name  of  God  in  the  singular,  whilst 
the  appellative,  "  Makers,"  is  in  the  plural.  The  Psalmist  writes, 
■ — "Let  Israel  rejoice  (vfetya)  in  his  Makers," — Ps.  cxlix.  2;  and 
Isaiah  assures  his  people  "  (ftVy  },L?p)  Thy  Makers  are  thy 
husbands,  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  (intf)  his  name." — Isa.  liv.  5. 

Not  only  does  the  name  of  the  Creator  itself  announce  the  work 
as  the  production  of  the  Sacred  Three,  but  in  the  progress  of  the 
narrative  we  have  distinct  intimation  of  the  presence  and  several 
agency  of  the  Three  Persons  of  the  Godhead.  The  first  chapter, 
and  down  to  the  fourth  verse  of  the  second,  is  a  rapid  and  com- 
prehensive sketch  of  the  whole  work  of  creation,  prefatory  to  the 


sect,  i.]  The  Triune  Creator.  53 

more  particular  account  of  the  creation  of  man,  which  occupies 
the  remainder  of  the  second  chapter.  Throughout  the  first  part 
of  the  narrative  thus  divided,  the  work  is,  by  the  name,  Elohim, 
referred  to  God  the  Father;  that  name  being  in  the  Scriptures 
almost  exclusively  applied  to  the  First  Person,  as  the  represent- 
ative of  the  Godhead.  From  the  fourth  verse  of  the  second 
chapter,  the  title  is  changed;  and  in  the  particular  narrative 
there  begun  it  is  Jehovah  Elohim — the  Lord  God — who  is  re- 
presented as  the  actor.  By  this  name  is  designated  that  glo- 
rious Jehovah  Christ,  "by  whom  God  made  the  worlds!' — Heb. 
i.  2.  That  he  was  meant  by  the  name,  Lord  God,  is  demon- 
strable. On  this  point  we  will  only  pause  to  cite  the  testimony 
of  the  Son  of  God  himself,  in  the  last  chapter  of  the  book  of 
Eevelation,  v.  6: — "The  Loed  God  of  the  holy  prophets  sent 
his  angel  to  show  unto  his  servants  the  things  which  must 
shortly  be  done."  v.  16: — "I  Jesus  have  sent  mine  angel  to 
testify  unto  you  these  things  in  the  churches."  Jesus,  then,  is 
the  Lord  God  of  the  Old  Testament  writers.  Here  the  reader 
will  not  fail  to  recall  the  account  with  which  John  commences 
his  Gospel: — "In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word 
was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God.  The  same  was  in  the 
beginning  with  God.  All  things  were  made  by  him'.' — John  i. 
1-3.  In  this  connection  the  fact  is  very  striking,  that  when,  in 
the  midst  of  that  portion  of  the  sacred  record  in  which  the 
title,  Lord  God,  is  constantly  used,  we  come  to  the  interview  be- 
tween the  tempter  and  the  woman,  the  style  is  changed.  Satan, 
aiming  to  seduce  the  woman  to  a  forgetfulness  of  the  ever-pre- 
sent God,  ignores  that  Lord  God  who  was,  alike,  the  creative 
Mediator  to  innocent  man,  as  he  is  the  atoning  Mediator  to 
man  fallen.  Thus,  putting  God  afar  off,  he  asks,  "Hath  God 
said?"  The  woman  falls  into  the  snare,  and  replies,  "God 
hath  said."  But  it  was  not  Elohim,  God,  but  the  Lord  God, 
who  alike  gave  the  command  and  called  the  pair  to  account  for 
disobedience.  (Gen.  ii.  16,  iii.  9.) 

Nor  are  we  without  evidence  of  the  presence  and  operation 
of  the  Third  Person  of  the  Godhead.  Not  only  is  his  agency 
announced   in   the   second   verse  of    Moses'   narrative, — "the 


54  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  i. 

Spirit  of  God  brooded  upon  the  face  of  the  waters," — but  in  the 
account  of  man's  creation  the  Spirit's  action  is  distinctly  marked 
in  the  statement  that  God  "breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath 
of  life." — Gen.  ii.  7.  With  this  compare  the  language  of  Elihu: 
— "The  Spirit  of  God  hath  made  me,  and  the  breath  of  the 
Almighty  hath  given  me  life." — Job  xxxiii.  4.  Says  Job,  "By 
his  Spirit  he  hath  garnished  the  heavens ;  his  hand  hath  formed 
the  crooked  serpent." — Job  xxvi.  13.  And  the  Psalmist  sings, 
"Thou  sendest  forth  thy  Spirit,  they  are  created;  and  thou  re- 
newest  the  face  of  the  earth." — Ps.  civ.  30. 

The  distinctive  characteristics  of  the  several  persons  of  the 
Godhead  are  intimated  in  their  names.  The  Father,  the  Son, 
I  2.  The  Eter-  and,  the  Spirit, — these  are  the  designations  habitu- 
nai  genera-  q\\j  employed  in  the  Scriptures  to  distinguish  the 
uon.  Psalm  n.  geveraj  subsistences  which  coexist  in  the  unity  of 
the  Godhead,  in  respect  to  their  relation  to  each  other.  In 
entering  upon  the  consideration  of  the  distinctions  thus  implied, 
we  are  to  remember  that,  whereas  it  were  impious  to  search 
curiously  into  the  mystery  of  the  divine  nature  beyond  what  is 
written,  it  is  no  less  impious  to  refuse  to  hear,  or  to  regard 
with  indifference,  whatever  on  these  subjects  God  has  made 
known.  That  the  names,  Father  and  Son,  indicate  relations  of 
the  First  and  Second  Persons  to  each  other,  which  are  neces- 
sary, essential,  and  eternal — has  been  the  faith  of  the  Church 
of  God  in  all  ages,  and  is  clearly  demonstrable  from  the  Scrip- 
tures. Says  the  Psalmist: — "I  will  declare  the  decree:  the 
Lord  hath  said  unto  me,  Thou  art  my  Son ;  this  day  have  I  be- 
gotten thee.  Ask  of  me,  and  I  will  give  thee  the  heathen  for 
thine  inheritance,"  &c. — Ps.  ii.  7,  8.  Here  observe:  (1)  That 
the  sonship  thus  announced  is  not  created  by  the  decree;  but 
is  expressly  asserted  to  be  prior  to  it,  and  produced  by  genera- 
tion. (2.)  "This  day"  does  not  define  a  temporal  period  when 
the  generation  took  place.  Had  such  been  the  design,  an  ap- 
preciable date  would  have  been  specified,  in  definite  terms.  But 
when,  without  any  such  limitation,  such  a  phrase  is  used  by 
the  eternal  God,  in  an  address  to  a  coeternal  Person,  the  trans- 
action is  thus  referred  to  his  eternity.     (3.)  The  sonship  is  the 


sect,  ii.]  The  Triune  Creator.  55 

declared  cause  of  the  decree,  and  therefore  antecedent  to  it. 
"  The  Father  loveth  the  Son,  and  hath  given  all  things  into  his 
hand." — John  iii.  35.  (4.)  The  date  of  the  decree  is  eternity. 
It  constitutes  an  element  in  the  provisions  of  the  everlasting 
covenant,  in  the  terms  and  conditions  of  which,  everywhere,  as 
well  as  here,  the  Son  being  recognised  and  dealt  with  as  pos- 
sessing the  filial  relation,  and  as,  therefore,  invested  with  the 
offices  assigned  to  him  in  the  covenant,  the  conclusion  is  inevi- 
table that  the  sonship  is  eternal.  There  is  in  this  Psalm  another 
mode  of  fixing  the  date  of  the  whole  transaction.  The  heathen 
are  represented  as  raging  against  the  Lord  and  his  anointed. 
"Yet,"  says  God,  "have  I  set  ("i?z>Qi  inaugurated,  installed) 
my  king  upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion."  The  date  of  this  inaugu- 
ration will  appear  in  the  next  Scripture  to  which  we  turn. 

Prov.  viii.  22-31 : — "The  Lord  possessed  me  in  the  beginning 
of  his  way,  before  his  works  of  old.  I  was  set  up  ('fl^Dj  in- 
%  3.  Proof  augurated)  from  everlasting,  from  the  beginning,  or 
from  Pmo.  ever  the  earth  was.  When  there  were  no  depths,  I 
was  brought  forth;  when  there  were  no  fountains 
abounding  with  water.  Before  the  mountains  were  settled, 
before  the  hills  was  I  brought  forth :  while  as  yet  he  had  not 
made  the  earth,  nor  the  fields,  nor  the  highest  part  of  the  dust 
of  the  world.  When  he  prepared  the  heavens,  I  was  there; 
when  he  set  a  compass  upon  the  face  of  the  depth ;  when  he  es- 
tablished the  clouds  above ;  when  he  strengthened  the  fountains 
of  the  deep;  when  he  gave  to  the  sea  his  decree,  that  the 
waters  should  not  pass  his  commandment;  when  he  appointed 
the  foundations  of  the  earth :  then  was  I  by  him,  as  one  brought 
up  with  him,  and  was  daily  his  delight,  rejoicing  always  before 
him;  rejoicing  in  the  habitable  part  of  the  earth;  and  my  de- 
lights were  with  the  sons  of  men." 

That,  under  the  name  of  Wisdom,  this  Scripture  describes  a 
personal  subsistence, — the  Second  Person  of  the  Trinity, — ap- 
pears, from  considerations,  at  some  only  of  which  we  can  at  pre- 
sent glance.  The  whole  style  of  the  discourse,  and  the  force  of 
the  several  expressions  in  it,  imply  a  personal  subject;  and  are 
entirely  incompatible  with  the  reference  of  the  language  to  the 


56  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  i. 

divine  attribute  of  wisdom,  or  any  interpretation  which  does 
not  recognise  the  speaker  as  a  distinct  personality.  Thus  he 
says,  "I  Wisdom  dwell  with  prudence,  and  find  out  knowledge 
of  witty  inventions.  Counsel  is  mine,  and  sound  wisdom :  I  am 
understanding;  I  have  strength." — v.  12,  14.  With  what  pre- 
tence of  propriety  can  we  suppose  the  attribute  of  wisdom  to 
describe  itself,  thus,  as  endowed  with  counsel,  wisdom,  under- 
standing, and  strength?  "I  Wisdom  have  sound  wisdom!" 
Still  more  incongruous  are  the  ideas  which  by  this  interpreta- 
tion are  brought  together  in  the  next  clause.  "I  Wisdom  am 
understanding."  Here  we  are  introduced  to  a  most  extraordi- 
nary and  perplexing  complication  of  figures.  It  is  supposed 
that  the  divine  wisdom  is  figuratively  exhibited  as  a  person, 
addressing  her  admonitions  and  instruction  to  the  sons  of  men. 
Then  the  attribute  thus  personified  employs  a  figure,  by  which 
it  throws  off  this  personality,  and  is  transformed  into  a  different 
attribute.  The  wisdom  of  God,  by  prosopopoeia,  becomes  a 
speaker;  and  then,  by  metaphor,  is  transformed  back  again  into 
an  attribute;  but  in  the  process  loses  its  identity;  and  is  now 
the  divine  understanding !  Further,  what  meaning  is  supposed 
to  couch  in  the  statement  respecting  the  attribute  of  God's 
wisdom,  that  by  it  "kings  reign,  and  princes  decree  justice, 
princes  rule,  and  nobles,  even  all  the  judges  of  the  earth"? — v. 
15,  16.  We  understand  the  apostle,  when  he  speaks  of  Christ  as 
"the  Prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth,"  "the  King  of  kings 
and  Lord  of  lords." — Eev.  i.  5,  xix.  16.  But  in  any  other 
sense  than  this,  we  are  unable  to  see  the  propriety  of  the  lan- 
guage here  applied  as  descriptive  of  Wisdom.  In  the  verses 
that  follow,  we  find  Wisdom  represented  as  existing  externally 
to  the  person  of  the  Father;  who  is  designated  by  the  name, 
Lord.  v.  22:—"  The  Lord  possessed  me  in  the  beginning  of  his 
way,  before  his  works  of  old."  "The  Lord  (,Mj5)  acquired  me." 
The  word  expresses, — not  that  which  is  immanent  in  one,  as  is  the 
attribute  of  wisdom  in  God, — but  an  acquired  possession ;  and  is 
employed  to  express  the  acquisition  of  children  by  generation. 
In  the  case  of  the  first  born  of  men,  typical  of  all  the  rest,  we 
are  told  that  Eve  bare  (|?p)  Cain,  "saying,  (VWR)  I  have  gotten 


sect,  in.]  The  Triune  Creator.  57 

a  man  from  the  Lord." — Gen.  iv.  1.  Evidently,  such  language 
as  is  thus  used  of  Wisdom  is  entirely  inappropriate  to  the  attri- 
bute, which  is  essential  in  the  nature  of  God.  If  it  should  be 
objected,  that  it  is  equally  inappropriate  to  the  Son,  as  eternal, 
— this  raises  a  question,  which  will  afterwards  be  considered, 
v.  23: — "I  was  set  up  (inaugurated)  from  everlasting,  from  the 
beginning,  or  ever  the  earth  was."  We  have  seen  in  the  second 
Psalm  an  announcement  of  such  an  inauguration  of  the  Son. 
But  how  can  such  phraseology  be  applied  to  a  divine  perfection  ? 
Is  it  not  directly  opposed  to  the  whole  teaching  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  to  all  just  conceptions  of  the  nature  of  God,  to  sup- 
pose any  one  divine  attribute  exalted  above  the  rest  ?  Is  wisdom 
preferred  to  justice,  love,  mercy,  or  holiness?  v.  30: — "Then 
was  I  (p'DN  f7i\s)  at  his  side,  a  cherished  child,  and  I  was  daily  his 
delight,  (n;'-^3  naS  nprjfrn)  sporting  always  before  him."  "This 
word  (v?3$  at  his  side,  by  him)  signally  declares  the  personality 
of  Wisdom;  for  in  all  the  places  where  it  occurs,  which  are 
sixty-two,  there  is  not  one  in  which  it  does  not  designate  that 
manner  of  vicinity  which  occurs  between  two  distinct  things."* 
The  force  of  the  word  which  we  render,  "a  cherished  child," 
is  illustrated  in  Num.  xi.  12 : — "  Have  I  conceived  all  this 
people  ?  have  I  begotten  them,  that  thou  shouldest  say  unto 
me,  Carry  them  in  thy  bosom  as  he,  (f?fcn)  a  nursing  father, 
beareth  the  sucking  child?"  The  word  which  we  have  ren- 
dered "sporting,"  does  not  express  mere  gladness  or  joy; 
but  such  actions  as  are  designed  and  calculated  to  express 
and  impart  enjoyment.  Thus,  it  is  used  to  describe  the 
conduct  of  Samson,  when  he  "made  sport"  for  the  Philistines, 
(Judges  xvi.  25,  27;)  and  to  represent  the  behaviour  of  David, 
when  he  "played"  before  the  ark.  (2  Sam.  vi.  5,  21.)  It  is  em- 
ployed by  Zechariah,  when,  speaking  of  Jerusalem,  at  that  time 
desolate,  he  says,  "The  streets  of  the  city  shall  yet  be  full  of 
boys  and  girls,  playing  in  the  streets  thereof." — Zech.  viii.  5. 
"Sporting  always  before  him," — that  is,  as  does  a  child  in  the 
presence  of  the  loved  parent,  striving  to  elicit  a  smile.  The 
force  of  the  expression  is  still  further  strengthened  by  what  fol- 

*  Gejerus  in  Poole's  Synopsis,  on  the  place. 


58  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  i. 

lows.  v.  31: — "Sporting  in  the  habitable  parts  of  the  earth;" — 
there  seeking  to  give  the  Father  pleasure.  Thus  speaking, 
he  anticipates,  as  present  to  his  eternal  mind,  the  course  of  his 
life  in  the  flesh;  which  drew  forth  the  Father's  repeated  testi- 
mony, "This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased," 
— Matt.  iii.  17;  and  respecting  which  himself  declares,  "The 
Father  hath  not  left  me  alone;  for  I  do  always  those  things 
that  please  him." — John  viii.  29. 

The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  asserts  a  claim  to  this  name  of  "Wis- 
dom ;  and  it  is  attributed  to  him  by  the  New  Testament  writers. 
,4  The  W{s  Said  Jesus  to  the  Jews,  "Woe  unto  you!  for  ye 
dom  of  God  build  the  sepulchres  of  the  prophets,  and  your 
is  Christ.  fathers  killed  them.     Therefore  also  said  the  Wis- 

dom of  God,  I  will  send  them  prophets  and  apostles,  and  some 
of  them  they  shall  slay  and  persecute." — Luke  xi.  49.  In 
Matthew  we  have  an  account  of  this  same  discourse,  in  which 
the  declarations  and  warnings  which  are  here  predicated  of  the 
Wisdom  of  God,  are  ascribed  to  Jesus  himself.  "Wherefore, 
behold,  I  send  unto  you  prophets  and  wise  men." — Matt,  xxiii. 
34.  Even  if  it  be  supposed  that,  in  the  former  place,  by  the 
sayings  of  the  Wisdom  of  God,  the  Old  Testament  prophecies 
are  meant,  yet  is  it  unquestionable  that  they  are  the  testimonies 
of  Jesus  by  his  Spirit.  "The  testimony  of  Jesus  is  the  Spirit 
of  prophecy." — Eev.  xix.  10.  And  Peter  declares  that  the 
prophets  knew  not,  "what,  or  what  manner  of  time,  the  Spirit 
of  Christ  which  was  in  them  did  signify." — 1  Pet.  i.  11.  So 
that,  by  Wisdom,  Christ  can  here  mean  no  other  than  himself. 
Again,  the  Saviour  designates  himself  in  a  similar  way,  in  Matt, 
xi.  19: — "Whereunto  shall  I  liken  the  men  of  this  generation? 
For  John  came  neither  eating  nor  drinking,  and  they  say,  He 
hath  a  devil.  The  Son  of  man  came  eating  and  drinking,  and 
they  say,  Behold  a  man  gluttonous,  and  a  wine-bibber,  a  friend 
of  publicans  and  sinners.  But  Wisdom  is  justified  of  her  chil- 
dren." Hence  Paul  proclaims  "Christ  the  power  of  God,  and 
the  wisdom  of  God." — 1  Cor.  i.  24.  And  again,  with  a  mani- 
fest reference  to  Him  whom  we  have  seen  in  the  second  Psalm, 
and  in  the  place  now  under  discussion,  to  have  been  installed 


sect,  ii.]  The  Triune  Creator.  59 

from  everlasting,  he  says,  "We  speak  the  Wisdom  of  God  in 
a  mystery,  even  the  hidden  Wisdom,  which  God  ordained  before 
the  world  unto  our  glory;  which  none  of  the  princes  of  this 
world  knew,  for  had  they  known  it,  they  would  not  have  cruci- 
fied the  Lord  of  glory." — 1  Cor.  ii.  7,  8. 

Again :  the  things  which,  in  the  book  of  Proverbs,  are  spoken 
of  Wisdom,  all  apply  with  the  most  perfect  propriety  to  the 
Son  of  God;  and  some  of  them  can  with  no  tolerable  fitness  be 
appropriated  in  any  other  way,  than  to  him.  Of  this,  we  have 
already  had  some  evidence.  For  the  rest,  we  can  only  glance  at 
a  few  points. 

The  history  and  character  of  Wisdom  present  a  remarkable 
correspondence  with  those  of  Christ.  Wisdom  was  in  the  be- 
ginning; she  was  from  everlasting  with  God;  was  present  at 
the  creation,  and  was  the  author  of  creation.  (Prov.  viii.  23,  27, 
30,  iii.  19;  with  which  compare  John  i.  1-3,  and  Heb.  i.  2.)  By 
her  the  events  of  providence  are  ordered.  (Prov.  iii.  20,  viii.  21; 
compare  Heb.  i.  3,  Col.  i.  16,  17.)  By  her  kings  and  princes 
hold  their  sceptres  and  power.  (Prov.  viii.  15,  16;  compare  Ptev. 
xix.  16.)  Among  her  most  signal  characteristics  are  tender 
love  to  men,  (Prov.  viii.  17,  31,  i.  22,  23,)  and  a  high  regard  to 
the  claims  of  justice  against  incorrigible  sinners.  (Prov.  i.  28- 
32;  compare  Luke  xiv.  16-24.)  She  hates  "pride,  and  arro- 
gancy,  and  the  evil  way,  and  the  froward  mouth."  And  her 
distinguishing  attributes  are  counsel,  sound  wisdom,  under- 
standing, and  strength.  (Prov.  viii.  13,  14;  compare  Isa.  xlv. 
24;  1  Cor.  i.  30.) 

Wisdom's  attitude  towards  man  is  equally  descriptive  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  With  what  freedom  and  publicity  are  her 
invitations  urged  !  (Prov.  i.  21,  viii.  1-4,  ix.  3 ;  compare  John 
vii.  37,  Matt.  x.  27.)  Her  gifts,  though  free,  are  to  be  won 
by  earnestness  and  importunity  in  the  pursuit.  (Prov.  ii.  3,  4 ; 
compare  Luke  xiii.  24,  Matt.  xi.  12.)  Their  value  is  better  than 
silver  and  hid  treasures,  fine  gold  and  rubies.  (Prov.  ii.  4,  iii. 
14,  15,  viii.  10,  18,  19 ;  compare  Rev.  iii.  18.)  And,  when  we 
come  to  hear  what  these  gifts  are,  we  must  recognise  them  as 
coming  from  the  Son  of  God,  and  from  no  other.     She  promises 


60  The  Elolrim  Revealed.  [chap.  i. 

to  introduce  us  to  the  knowledge  of  God,  (Prov.  ii.  5 ;  compare 
John  xvii.  3,  6;  xiv.  9,  i.  18,)  and  to  pour  out  upon  us  the  Spirit 
of  God.  (Prov.  i.  23 ;  compare  John  xvi.  7.)  She  offers  to  sin- 
ners, righteousness, — a  gift  which  in  all  the  treasures  of  God's 
universe  is  only  to  be  found  in  Christ.  (Prov.  viii.  18 ;  com- 
pare Jer.  xxiii.  6.)  She  engages  to  bestow  upon  her  followers 
safety  and  tranquillity,  (Prov.  i.  33 ;  compare  Matt.  xi.  28,  29,) 
a  guardian  care  and  guidance,  (Prov.  ii.  7,  8,  11-13,)  a  crown 
of  glory,  (Prov.  iv.  9 ;  compare  2  Tim.  iv.  8,)  durable  riches, 
(Prov.  viii.  18 ;  compare  Matt.  vi.  20,  Eev.  iii.  18,)  and  life  and 
the  favour  of  the  Lord.  (Prov.  iii.  16,  18,  viii.  35 ;  compare  Eev. 
ii.  7,  and  John  vi.  54.) 

The  glance  thus  taken  will,  we  trust,  be  sufficient  to  satisfy 
the  reader,  that  "Wisdom,  who  speaks  in  the  book  of  Proverbs, 
and  particularly  in  the  eighth  chapter,  is  a  person  distinct  from 
God  the  Father,  and  can  be  no  other  than  his  beloved  and  eter- 
nal Son.  It  is  he  that  says,  "  The  Lord  acquired  me  in  the 
beginning  of  his  way,  before  his  works  of  old."  "When  there 
were  no  depths,  I  was  brought  forth."  "  Before  the  mountains 
were  settled,  before  the  hills  was  I  brought  forth."  "  When 
he  appointed  the  foundations  of  the  earth,  then  was  I  at  his 
side,  a  nourished  child." 

In  the  30th  chapter  of  Proverbs  there  is  another  signal  testi- 
mony on  the  subject  of  our  inquiry : — "I  neither  learned  Wisdom 
z  5  Proverbs  nor  have  the  knowledge  of  (o^f?)  the  Holy  Ones. 
xxx.  3,  4,  and  Who  hath  ascended  up  into  heaven,  or  descended  ? 
Micah  v.  2.  Wll0  ^th  gathered  the  winds  in  his  fists  ?  Who 
hath  bound  the  waters  in  a  garment  ?  Who  hath  established 
all  the  ends  of  the  earth  ?  What  is  his  name,  and  what  is  his 
son's  name,  if  thou  canst  tell?" — Prov.  xxx.  3,  4.  These  are 
"the  words  of  Agur  the  son  of  Jakeh,  even  the  prophecy :  the 
man  spake  unto  Ithiel,  even  unto  Ithiel  and  Ucal."  The  name, 
Ithiel,  is  identical  in  meaning  with  Immanuel,  the  number  only 
being  changed,— God  with  me ;  and  Ucal  signifies,  the  mighty 
One.  And  judicious  interpreters  have  translated  the  clause, 
"  The  man  spake  concerning  God  with  me,  even  God  with  me, 
the  mighty  One."   But,  aside  from  this  interpretation,  the  pass- 


sect,  iv.]  The  Triune  Creator.  61 

age  has  several  things  unquestionable  and  conclusive  on  the  sub- 
ject of  which  we  treat.  1.  His  theme,  Agur  presents  as  myste- 
rious and  unsearchable.  This  he  declares,  in  the  first  place,  b)T 
protestations  of  his  own  ignorance,  and  then  by  the  series  of 
questions  which  we  have  quoted.  He  says,  "  Surely  I  am  more 
brutish  than  any  man,  and  have  not  the  understanding  of  a 
man.  I  neither  learned  Wisdom  nor  have  the  knowledge  of  the 
Holy  Ones."  2.  His  theme  is  the  nature  of  God,  of  whom  he 
speaks  in  the  plural  number : — the  Holy  Ones.  3.  There  is  a 
distinct  allusion  to  the  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God,  in  the 
question,  "  Who  hath  ascended  up  into  heaven,  or  descended  ?" 
With  this,  compare  Eph.  iv.  8-10.  4.  Having  asserted  the 
inscrutable  nature  of  God  the  Creator,  in  the  demand,  "  What 
is  his  name  ?"  he  attributes  to  him  a  Son,  of  nature  as  myste- 
rious and  unsearchable : — "  What  is  his  Son's  name,  if  thou 
canst  tell  ?"  It  is  complained  that  the  style  of  Agur  is  obscure. 
His  subject  is  profound.  But  he  distinctly  presents  the  points 
here  stated,  which  are  conclusive  on  the  subject  of  the  sonship 
of  Christ. 

Micah  v.  2  constitutes  an  additional  proof  of  the  doctrine 
before  us  : — "  But  thou,  Bethlehem  Ephratah,  though  thou  be 
little  among  the  thousands  of  Judah,  yet  out  of  thee  shall  he 
come  forth  unto  me  that  is  to  be  ruler  in  Israel ;  whose  goings 
forth  have  been  from  of  old,  from  everlasting."  That  this  text 
has  respect  to  Christ,  Matthew  ii.  6  renders  unquestionable.  It 
does  not  in  terms  declare  his  eternal  sonship.  Yet  is  the  place 
none  the  less  effective  to  our  purpose,  since  it  indicates  such  a 
characteristic  in  the  nature  of  the  Son  of  God,  as  exactly  cor- 
responds with  the  doctrine  of  his  eternal  generation,  and  is 
otherwise  inexplicable.  Says  Micah,  "  His  goings  forth  have 
been  from  of  old,  from  everlasting."  The  word  translated 
"  goings  forth,"  does  not  of  itself  necessarily  mean  birth  or 
generation.  But  it  does  unquestionably  express  action  of  some 
kind,  and  cannot  be  applied  to  mere  purpose  or  plan  of  future 
action.  In  the  present  case,  it  defines  action  which  antedates 
the  entire  work  of  creation  ;  it  dates  "from  of  old,  from  everlast- 
ing."    It  has,  therefore,  respect  to  some  action,  which  is  appro- 


62  TJw  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  i. 

priate  to  the  relations  essentially  subsisting  between  the  Per- 
sons of  the  Godhead.  Further,  the  word  is  applicable  to  gene- 
ration. This  is  clearly  indicated  by  the  use  of  the  verb,  from 
which  the  noun  here  used  is  derived,  in  other  places.  Thus, 
Gen.  xv.  4  : — "  He  that  shall  go  forth,  out  of  thine  own  bowels, 
shall  be  thine  heir."  Gen.  xxxv.  11 : — "  Kings  shall  go  forth 
out  of  thy  loins."  2  Kings  xx.  18  : — "  Of  thy  sons  which  shall 
issue  from  thee."  The  plural  form  of  the  word,  is  also  observ- 
able:— "His  goings  forth."  By  this  expression,  implying  a 
continual  repetition  of  the  action,  is  indicated  its  eternity.  An 
act,  viewed  in  the  light  of  human  comprehension,  is  a  moment- 
ary and  transient  thing.  In  particular,  such  is  the  case  with 
a  going  forth,  or  a  birth.  Hence,  no  more  appropriate  form 
could  be  used  to  express  such  action  as,  being  essential  in  the 
nature  of  God,  is  entirely  free  from  any  thing  like  transition, 
origin,  or  termination,  than  that  here  used,  expressive  of  perpe- 
tual and  continuous  repetition  of  the  same  act. 

We  come  next  to  the  evidence  unfolded  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, in  respect  to  which  any  thing  more  than  a  very  cursory 
a  6  Proofs  de  glance  is  impossible.  The  careful  reader  of  the 
rived  from  the  Gospels  cannot  fail  to  recognise  therein  abundant 
Gospels.  evidence  that  the  name,  Son  of  God,  was  familiar 

to  the  Jews,  altogether  irrespective  of  Christ's  claim  to  it. 
They  recognised  it  as  being  the  distinctive  name  of  a  divine 
Person,  who  was  equal  with  God  the  Father.  As  so  understood 
by  them,  Jesus  asserted  this  as  his  proper  name.  Upon  this 
ground,  he  was  tried  before  the  Sanhedrim,  and  condemned,  on 
the  charge  of  blasphemy.  When  he  was  on  the  cross,  this  ac- 
cusation was  urged  against  him ;  with  the  challenge,  that,  if  he 
were  such  as  he  claimed,  he  would  prove  it  by  coming  down. 
The  priests  recognised  his  foretold  resurrection  as  the  test  of 
the  question ;  and  therefore  sealed  the  stone,  and  set  the  guard. 
And,  when  he  rose,  his  disciples  proclaimed  that  fact,  as  the 
conclusive  proof  that  he  was  the  Son  of  God.  Let  us  glance 
at  these  several  points. 

In  the  second  Psalm,  the  Jews  had  been  made  familiar  with 
the  name  of  the  Son  of  God.     We  might  further  show,  were  it 


sect,  v.]  The  Triune  Creator.  63 

necessary,  that  they  understood  the  passages  in  Proverbs,  in  the 
sense  which  we  have  attributed  to  them.  Nebuchadnezzar, 
who  had  been  fully  instructed,  as  to  the  coming  and  history  of 
Messiah's  kingdom,  by  his  own  prophetic  vision  of  the  image,  and 
the  stone  cut  without  hands,  as  well  as  by  the  conversation  and 
history  of  Daniel,  shows  his  familiarity  with  this  name  and  its 
meaning,  when,  upon  occasion  of  the  martyrdom  of  Shadrach, 
Meshach  and  Abednego,  he  says,  "Did  not  we  cast  three  men 
bound,  into  the  midst  of  the  fire  ?  Lo,  I  see  four  men  loose,  walk- 
ing in  the  midst  of  the  fire,  and  they  have  no  hurt;  and  the  form 
of  the  fourth  is  like  the  Son  of  God." — Dan.  iii.  25.  Hence, 
when  our  Saviour  came,  the  Jews,  familiar  with  these  Scriptures, 
at  once  perceived  his  claim  to  the  name  in  question  to  involve  the 
assertion  of  divinity.  On  one  occasion,  Christ  having  healed  a 
man  on  the  Sabbath  day,  he  replied  to  the  accusation  of  Sabbath- 
breaking,  "My  Father  worketh  hitherto,  and  I  work.  There- 
fore sought  the  Jews  the  more  to  kill  him,  because  he  had  not 
only  broken  the  Sabbath,  but  said  also  that  God  was  his  Father, 
making  himself  equal  with  God." — John  v.  18.  Jesus  is  so  far 
from  modifying  or  explaining  the  language,  as  though  he  had 
been  misunderstood,  that  he  goes  on  to  expatiate  at  length  in 
similar  terms ;  and  makes  various  statements  as  to  his  preroga- 
tives and  powers,  which  went  to  sustain  the  same  claim  of 
divinity.  He  asserts  community  of  working  with  the  Father, 
and  power  to  renew  and  transform  the  living,  to  raise  the  dead, 
and  judge  the  world;  and  vindicates  these  claims  by  appeal  to 
the  testimony  of  his  word  and  works,  of  John,  of  Moses,  and 
of  the  Father. — John  v.  19-45.  On  occasion  of  healing  a  blind 
man,  he  asks  the  man,  "Dost  thou  believe  on  the  Son  of  God? 
He  answered  and  said,  Who  is  he,  Lord,  that  I  might  believe 
on  him  ?  And  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Thou  hast  both  seen  him, 
and  it  is  he  that  talketh  with  thee.  And  he  said,  Lord,  I  be- 
lieve. And  he  worshipped  him." — John  ix.  35-38.  Here,  Jesus 
assumes  the  man  to  understand  the  meaning  of  this  name, — 
an  assumption  which  his  answer  fully  justified.  All  he  needs 
is,  to  be  told  to  whom  that  dread  and  glorious  title  belongs; 
and,  upon  being  informed,  he  at  once  pays  him  divine  worship. 


64  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  i. 

Again,  having  excited  the  rage  of  the  Jews,  by  calling  God  his 
Father,  and  saying,  "I  and  my  Father  are  one,"  they  charge 
him  with  blasphemy;  " because  that  thou,  being  a  man,  makest 
thyself  God."  Jesus,  then,  alluding  to  the  Scripture  in  which 
it  is  written  of  Israel,  "I  said,  Ye  are  gods,"  proceeds  to  vin- 
dicate his  claim  to  that  title,  in  a  much  higher  sense;  and  de- 
clares his  works  to  be  proof  "that  the  Father  is  in  me,  and  I 
in  him.  Therefore  they  sought  again  to  take  him;  but  he  es- 
caped out  of  their  hand." — John  x.  30-39. 

This  assertion  of  sonship  to  God,  was  the  very  ground  on 
which  he  was  accused  and  condemned  by  the  senate  of  Israel. 
"The  high-priest  answered  and  said  unto  him,  I  adjure  thee  by 
the  living  God,  that  thou  tell  us  whether  thou  be  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God.  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Thou  hast  said  :  never- 
theless I  say  unto  you,  Hereafter  shall  ye  see  the  Son  of  man 
sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  power,  and  coming  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven.  Then  the  high-priest  rent  his  clothes,  saying,  He  hath 
spoken  blasphemy ;  what  further  need  have  we  of  witnesses  ? 
behold,  now  ye  have  heard  his  blasphemy.  What  think  ye? 
They  answered  and  said,  He  is  guilty  of  death." — Matt.  xxvi. 
63-66.  Afterward,  when  urging  Pilate  to  gratify  their  malice, 
one  plea  is,  "He  maketh  himself  a  king;"  and  the  other,  "By 
our  law  he  ought  to  die,  because  he  made  himself  the  Son  of 
God." — John  xix.  7-12.  These  were  the  charges  upon  which 
he  was  condemned;  as  the  inscription  on  his  cross  and  the  scoffs 
of  those  who  passed  by  testify.  They  reviled  him,  saying,  "  If 
thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  come  down  from  the  cross."  "If  he  be 
the  King  of  Israel,  let  him  now  come  down  from  the  cross,  and 
we  will  believe  him.  He  trusted  in  God ;  let  him  deliver  him 
now,  if  he  will  have  him :  for  he  said,  I  am  the  Son  of 
God." — Matt,  xxvii.  40,  42,  43.  How  directly  all  this  had 
respect  to  the  language  of  the  second  Psalm,  we  need  not  point 
out.  Evidently,  its  declarations  were  present  to  the  minds 
of  all  the  actors.  So  distinctly  and  publicly  was  it  recognised, 
that  the  cpuestion  at  issue  was  the  divine  sonship  of  Christ,  that 
the  Roman  centurion,  by  whom  the  execution  was  conducted, 
overwhelmed  by  the  prodigies  which  attended  the  scene,  de- 


sect,  vl]  The  Triune  Creator.  65 

clared  them  conclusive  proof  of  the  justice  of  his  claim.  He 
exclaims,  "Truly  this  was  the  Son  of  God." — Matt,  xxvii.  54. 
Accordingly,  when  he  was  risen  from  the  dead,  he  makes  his  first 
announcement  of  the  fact  to  Mary  Magdalene,  in  terms  assert- 
ing this  relation: — "Touch  me  not;  for  I  am  not  yet  ascended 
to  my  Father." — John  xix.  17.  The  Apostle  John  closes  his 
narrative,  by  saying,  "These  things  were  written,  that  ye  might 
believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God ;  and  that  be- 
lieving ye  might  have  life  through  his  name." — John  xx.  31. 
And  Paul,  in  the  beginning  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Eomans,  de- 
clares the  gospel  to  be  concerning  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  "which 
was  made  of  the  seed  of  David,  according  to  the  flesh,  and  de- 
clared to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power,  according  to  the  Spirit 
of  holiness,  by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead." — Eom.  i.  1-4. 

Now,  let  it  be  observed,  that,  in  the  whole  course  of  Christ's 
ministry,  there  is  not  a  trace  of  any  hesitation  on  the  part  of  any 
.  one  of  his  hearers,  in  reference  to  the  meaning  of  the  name,  Son  of 
God.  "Whether  Nathanael  at  Bethsaida,  (John  i.  49,)  his  disciples 
wondering  at  his  power  over  winds  and  waves,  (Matt.  xiv.  33,) 
the  blind  man  restored  to  sight ;  devils  in  terror  of  him  as  their 
final  judge,  (Matt.  viii.  29,)  the  people  abroad,  (John  v.  18,  x. 
30,)  or  the  sanhedrim  in  council,  (Matt.  xxvi.  63,)  whenever 
that  title  was  used  respecting  him,  or  claimed  by  him,  it  is  re- 
cognised at  once  and  by  all  as  the  well-known  and  appropriate 
designation  of  an  incommunicable  divine  nature.  In  calling 
himself,  Son  of  God,  they  regarded  him  as  claiming  equality 
with  God.  Knowing  them  so  to  understand  him,  he  still  con- 
tinues to  employ  the  name;  and  when  put  upon  oath  before  the 
high-priest,  affirms  the  title,  and  claims  that  as  such  he  will  be 
the  Judge  of  quick  and  dead.  Can  there  be  any  question  that 
the  name  so  employed  and  signalized  was  a  name  of  the  divine 
nature  of  the  Saviour  of  the  world  ? 

We  have  cursorily  cited  a   scripture,  which  demands  more 

particular   notice.      Eom.  i.  1-4: — "Paul,  a  servant  of  Jesus 

Christ,  called  to  be  an  apostle,  separated  unto  the 

derived  from      gospel  of  God,  which  he  had  promised  afore  by  his 

the  Epistles.       prophets  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  concerning  his  Sou 

5 


66  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  i. 

Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  which  was  made  of  the  seed  of  David 
according  to  the  flesh ;  and  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with 
power,  according  to  the  Spirit  of  holiness,  by  the  resurrection 
from  the  dead."  Here,  the  apostle  draws  a  contrast  between 
the  human  and  divine  nature  which  were  in  Christ.  His 
human  nature  is  designated  by  the  phrase,  (xard  adpxa})  "  ac- 
cording to  the  flesh;"  and  his  divine  nature,  by  the  correspond- 
ing expression,  (xard  7tveu/ua  dynoauvrji;,)  "  according  to  (or,  as 
to)  his  holy  spiritual  nature."  Of  his  human  nature,  his 
flesh,  the  apostle  predicates  a  sonship  to  David.  He  was 
"  made  of  the  seed  of  David  as  to  the  flesh."  But,  as  to  his 
holy  spiritual  nature,  he  was  "  declared  to  be  the  Son  of  God 
with  power."  It  is  true,  that  the  word  here  rendered  "  de- 
clared," does  sometimes  mean,  to  determine,  or  decree.  But  it 
is  also  true,  that  the  apostle  defines  that  of  which  he  is  speak- 
ing, in  unequivocal  terms,  as  being  that  in  Christ  which  was 
in  contrast  with  his  human  nature,  "  his  holy  spiritual  nature." 
"We  do  not  discuss  the  question  of  the  divinity  of  Christ ;  but 
assume  it  as  unquestionable.  Upon  this  assumption,  it  is  im- 
possible to  evade  the  conclusion,  that  it  is  the  divine  nature  of 
Christ  of  which  Paul  speaks,  under  the  designation,  "holy, 
spiritual,"  and  it  is  of  this  that  he  predicates  sonship; — sonship, 
too,  which,  however  demonstrated,  as  we  have  seen  it  was,  by 
his  resurrection,  could  not  in  any  way  be  produced  or  originated 
thereby.  In  short,  if  as  here  asserted  his  sonship  belongs  to 
his  divine  nature,  it  must  be  essential  and  eternal  in  that 
nature ;  since  the  nature  of  God  is  in  every  sense  unchangeable. 
The  conclusion  thus  attained,  is  by  Paul  presented  in  its  rela- 
tion to  the  history  of  which  we  have  already  spoken.  When 
Jesus  was  on  trial,  his  answer  to  the  demand  whether  he  was 
the  Son  of  God,  was,  "I  am :  and  ye  shall  see  the  Son  of  man 
sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  power,  and  coming  in  the  clouds 
of  heaven." — Mark  xiv.  62.  To  this  assertion  of  his  joint 
Godhead  and  humanity,  and  of  his  authority  and  power,  as 
God-man,  to  judge  the  world  at  the  last  day,  Paul  evidently 
alludes : — "  The  gospel  which  I  preach  is  concerning  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord,  who  was  the  Son  of  man,  for  he  was  as  to  his 


sect,  vil]  The  Triune  Creator.  67 

flesli  the  son  of  David ;  but  lie  was  also  the  Son  of  God,  clothed 
with  power  as  the  judge  of  quick  and  dead,  at  whose  voice  they 
that  sleep  in  the  dust  shall  rise ;  and  this  he  has  declared,  show- 
ing himself  to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power,  by  himself  rising 
from  the  dead." 

We  cannot  omit  a  rapid  glance  at  the  testimony  of  Paul,  to 
the  Hebrews.  "  God,  who  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers  man- 
ners spake  in  time  past  unto  the  fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath 
in  these  last  days  spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son,  whom  he  hath  ap- 
pointed heir  of  all  things,  by  whom  also  he  made  the  worlds ; 
who,  being  the  brightness  of  his  glory,  and  the  express  image 
of  his  person,  and  upholding  all  things  by  the  word  of  his 
power,  when  he  had  by  himself  purged  our  sins,  sat  down  on 
the  right  hand  of  the  majesty  on  high,  being  made  so  much 
better  than  the  angels,  as  he  hath  by  inheritance  obtained  a 
more  excellent  name  than  they." — Heb.  i.  1-4.  In  respect  to 
this  scripture,  and  the  whole  argument  of  the  epistle,  let  these 
things  be  observed.  1.  The  design  of  the  apostle  is  to  signalize 
to  the  children  of  Abraham  the  pre-eminent  glory  and  excel- 
lence of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  2.  Himself  an  Hebrew  of  the 
Hebrews,  Paul  was  fully  aware  of  the  fact  that  his  people  re- 
garded the  title,  Son  of  God,  as  a  name  asserting  a  supreme 
and  coequal  divinity  with  the  Father,  as  we  have  already  suffi- 
ciently seen.  3.  Knowing  this,  the  apostle  in  this  deliberately 
written  argument,  designed  to  go  nakedly  forth,  to  be  under- 
stood according  to  the  accepted  meaning  of  its  terms,  where  any 
explanations,  or  cautions  as  to  a  particular  sense,  would  be  im- 
possible, describes  the  Lord  Jesus  by  this  title.  4.  To  him  thus 
designated,  he  attributes  every  characteristic  of  divinity ;  and 
at  the  same  time,  in  respect  to  them  all,  employs  terms  appro- 
priate to  the  filial  relation  to  the  Father  so  indicated.  It  is  as 
the  only  begotten  that  he  is  Son,  having  "  obtained  by  inherit- 
ance" that  name  which  is,  by  adoption  and  union  with  him,  con- 
ferred on  the  saints.  It  is  as  the  Son  that  he  is  "the  brightness 
of  the  Father's  glory  and  the  express  image  of  his  person;" 
and  as  Son  he  is  heir  and  Lord  of  all  things. — Heb.  i.  2,  iii.  6. 
By  the  Son,  God  "  made  the  worlds."    He  "  upholdeth  all  things 


68  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  i. 

by  the  word  of  his  power."  In  short,  to  him,  as  Son,  are  the 
title,  the  dominion  and  the  prerogatives  of  God  emphatically- 
applied.  "  Unto  the  Son  he  saith,  Thy  throne,  0  God,  is  for 
ever  and  ever;  a  sceptre  of  righteousness  is  the  sceptre  of  thy 
kingdom,"  &c. 

Again,  in  the  third  chapter,  the  apostle  uses  an  argument, 
which  is  alike  conclusive  to  the  divinity  and  the  eternal  sonship 
of  Christ.  "  He  was  counted  worthy  of  more  glory  than  Moses, 
inasmuch  as  he  who  hath  builded  the  house  hath  more  honour 
than  the  house.  For  every  house  is  builded  (otto  zcvoz)  by  some 
one ;  but  he  that  built  all  things  is  God.  And  Moses  verily  was 
faithful  in  all  his  house  as  a  servant;  .  .  .  but  Christ  as  a  Son, 
over  his  own  house." — Heb.  iii.  3-6.  Here  the- glory  of  Christ 
is  displayed,  by  contrast  with  Moses,  in  the  argument  that,  as  he 
was  Moses'  maker,  he  must  be  infinitely  more  glorious  than  that 
great  prophet.  Furthermore,  inasmuch  as,  not  only  of  Moses, 
but  of  all  things,  he  is  the  maker  and  upholder,  he  must  be 
God;  since  "he  that  made  all  things  is  God."  The  apostle, 
then,  in  a  very  remarkable  way,  identifies  the  sonship  and  the 
divinity  of  Christ.  Moses  was  faithful  as  a  servant ;  "  but 
Christ  as  a  Son  over  his  own  house."  As  Son,  he  was  the 
Father's  agent  in  creating  all  things ;  and,  as  Son,  he  is  pro- 
prietor of  all  things,  by  a  double  title :  first,  as  thus  by  him 
they  were  made ;  and,  second,  as  he,  being  Son,  is  heir  to  the 
Father.  He,  therefore,  as  Son,  exercises  a  most  unquestionable 
right,  when  he  rules  all  things;  since  they  are  "his  own  house." 

Were  it  necessary,  we  might  insist  upon  the  many  passages 
where  the  language  clearly  implies  the  relation  of  the  Father 
and  Son  to  have  subsisted  prior  to  any  of  the  trans- 
scriptwai  ar-  actions  in  the  plan  of  redemption ;  on  which  it  is 
guments.  sometimes   attempted  to  predicate  the  origination 

of  these  names.  Thus,  when  our  Saviour  says,  "  God  so  loved 
the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son.  .  .  .  For  God 
sent  not  his  Son  into  the  world  to  condemn  the  world," — John 
iii.  16,  17,  the  entire  force  of  the  argument  in  proof  of  the 
love  of  God,  turns  upon  the  assumption  that  he  whom  he  or- 
dained and  sent,  was  his  Son  prior  to  his  mission ; — that,  in 


sect,  vii.]  The  Triune  Creator.  60 

giving  him  to  the  world,  he  was  robbing  himself  of  a  relation 
so  near  and  tender.  To  say  that  he  became  the  Son  of  God, 
by  coming  into  the  world,  or  after  his  coming,  is  to  deprive  the 
argument  of  the  Saviour  of  its  preciousness  and  force.  A  per- 
son professes  special  kindness  to  another.  In  proof  of  it,  he 
asserts  that,  on  the  other's  behalf,  he  had  hazarded  the  life 
of  his  own  son.  But,  on  inquiry,  it  appears  that  the  sonship 
is  only  by  adoption ;  and  that  its  date  is  subsequent  to  the  trans- 
action referred  to.  Who  wo  aid  not  condemn  the  statement  as 
doubly  false  ?  first,  in  calling  him  an  own  son,  who  was  only 
an  adopted  child ;  and,  second,  in  presenting  the  relation  as  an 
element  in  an  occurrence  which  took  place  before  the  relation 
had  existence  ?  Yet  such  is  the  impeachment  to  which  Christ, 
in  his  language  to  Nicodemus,  and  his  apostles,  in  many  similar 
places,  are  exposed,  by  the  interpretation  which  denies  the  eter- 
nal sonship. 

It  is  worthy  of  serious  consideration,  that  the  rejection 
of  this  doctrine  involves  principles  which  utterly  impoverish 
the  testimony  of  the  Scriptures,  on  the  subject  of  the  adoption 
and  sonship  which  belong  to  the  people  of  God.  That  adoption 
does  not  consist  in  a  mere  arbitrary  designating  and  treating  of 
them  as  sons.  But  they  are  sons  by  virtue  of  their  being  the 
members,  the  seed,  of  Christ  the  only-begotten  Son.  "  Accord- 
ing to  our  doctrine,  Christ  has  made  us  the  sons  of  God,  to- 
gether with  himself,  by  the  privilege  of  a  fraternal  union, 
because  he  is,  in  our  nature,  which  he  assumed,  the  only- 
begotten  Son  of  God."*  Now,  if  Christ's  sonship  be  native, 
we  recognise  a  precious  reality  in  a  sonship  to  God,  consequent 
upon  union  with  him.  But,  if  Christ's  own  sonship  is  merely 
adoptive,  the  whole  conception  of  our  relation  to  the  Father 
becomes  obscure  and  inane.  Then,  either  are  we,  by  the  im- 
mediate adoption  of  the  Father,  as  nearly  related  as  is  the  only- 
begotten  ;  or  else,  Christ  being  the  medium,  our  relation  is  that 
of  adoption  in  the  second  degree, — adopted  sons  through  him 
who  is  but  the  adopted  Son.  In  short,  whenever  and  however 
he  became  so,  Christ  is  not  an  adopted  son,  but  the  only  begotten. 

*  Calvin's  Institutes,  Book  II.  xiv.  7. 


70  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  i. 

The  attempt  is  made  to  evade  the  force  of  the  abundant  ar- 
guments, at  some  of  which  we  have  glanced,  by  the  sug- 
1 9.  Objections  gestion,  that  Christ  was  Son  of  God,  by  virtue  of  his 
answered.  miraculous  conception ;  or,  of  his  resurrection  from 

the  dead.  In  proof  of  the  former  position,  appeal  is  made  to  the 
language  of  the  angel  to  Mary  : — "  The  Holy  Ghost  shall  come 
upon  thee,  and  the  power  of  the  Highest  shall  overshadow 
thee :  therefore,  also,  that  holy  thing  which  shall  be  born  of 
thee  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God." — Luke  i.  35.  But,  even 
were  we  to  allow  the  interpretation  which  is  contended  for,  it 
does  not  involve  the  conclusion  upon  which  opposers  of  our  doc- 
trine insist.  This  same  writer,  Luke,  traces  the  genealogy 
of  Jesus  to  Adam,  "which  was  the  son  of  God." — Luke  iii.  38. 
And  it  is  unquestionable  that,  as  Adam  was  the  son  of  God, 
by  virtue  of  the  immediate  agency  of  God  in  his  creation,  so,  in 
a  very  analogous  manner,  the  second  Adam,  as  to  his  human 
nature,  was  a  son  of  God  by  virtue  of  the  miraculous  mode  of 
his  generation,  which  is  spoken  of  by  the  angel.  But  this,  so 
far  from  precluding  the  doctrine  of  the  eternal  sonship,  is  en- 
tirely congruous  with  it.  It  would  seem  eminently  becoming, 
that  the  eternal  Son,  in  uniting  his  nature  with  that  of  man, 
should  be  invested  with  a  humanity  sustaining  to  the  Father  a 
relation  as  nearly  filial  as  man's  nature  may.  We,  therefore, 
readily  admit  that  this  was  comprehended  in  the  meaning  of 
the  angel.  But,  that  it  was  all  which  he  meant,  we  most  stre- 
nuously deny ;  and  if  it  was  all  which  Mary  herself  understood, 
or  was  intended  to  understand, — which  is  by  no  means  to  be  ad- 
mitted,— she  would  but  be  in  the  condition  in  which  were  the 
prophets.  They  were  conscious  of  very  inadequate  conceptions 
respecting  the  things  which  are  now  by  us  clearly  understood  in 
their  writings.  (1  Pet.  i.  10-12.)  Whilst  the  man,  Christ  Jesus, 
was  son  of  God,  by  virtue  of  his  miraculous  conception ;  the 
mediatorial  person  was  in  a  much  higher  sense  the  Son,  the 
only -begotten,  of  the  Father.  He  is  so,  by  virtue  of  the  fact, 
that,  in  him,  the  Second  Person  of  the  Trinity,  the  eternal 
Son  of  God,  is  one  person  with  the  son  of  Mary.  And  it  is  in 
reference  to  the  typical  relation  of  the  first  Adam  to  the  second, 


sect,  ix.]  The  Triune  Creator.  71 

that  the  former,  although  sustaining  a  relation  to  God  which 
was  only  a  shadow  of  that  of  Christ,  is  designated,  "son  of 
God."  The  testimony  of  all  the  Scriptures  is  in  harmony  with 
this  interpretation  of  the  language  of  the  angel;  whilst  the 
other  is  open  to  several  insurmountable  objections.  It  entirely 
ignores  the  eternity  of  the  generation,  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
the  Scriptures  elsewhere  unequivocally  attest.  Further,  it  is 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  not  the  Father,  to  whom  the  miraculous 
conception  is  attributed;  and  yet  Christ  is  never  called  the  Son 
of  the  Spirit.  Not  only  so,  but  his  title,  Son  of  God,  as  used 
among  the  Jews,  had  manifestly  no  allusion  to  the  manner  of 
the  birth  of  Jesus.  We  have  not  the  slightest  reason  to  sup- 
pose them  to  have  known  any  thing  whatever  of  the  miraculous 
conception.  That  they  should  have  imagined  the  name  to  have 
any  reference  to  such  a  fact,  is  altogether  irreconcilable  with 
the  whole  tenor  of  the  New  Testament  on  the  subject.  An 
illustration  of  this  is  seen  in  the  confession  of  Nathanael.  He 
knew  nothing  of  Jesus,  except  that  he  was  from  Nazareth. 
Upon  this  fact,  he  predicates  the  inquiry,  "Can  any  good  thing 
come  out  of  Nazareth?"  But  no  sooner  does  our  Saviour 
evince  to  this  true  Israelite  his  omniscience,  by  the  declaration, 
"  Before  that  Peter  called  thee,  when  thou  wast  under  the  fig- 
tree,  I  saw  thee,"  then  he  replies,  "Rabbi,  thou  art  the  Son 
of  God;  thou  art  the  king  of  Israel." — John  i.  49.  To  say,  that 
the  miraculous  conception  was  the  ground  of  this  profession  of 
faith,  is  to  trifle  with  the  subject.  All  that  Nathanael  knew 
of  Christ  was,  that  in  him  was  incarnate  Omniscience.  So,  this 
hypothesis  is  entirely  inconsistent  with  the  fact,  that  the  Jews 
at  large  recognised  this  name  as  conveying  an  assertion  of 
equality  with  God;  and  that  the  sense  in  which  the  title  was 
claimed  by  Christ  was  such  as,  if  false,  involved  him  by  their 
law  in  the  charge  of  blasphemy.  To  say,  that  he  used  the 
word  in  another  than  the  received  sense,  is,  to  accuse  him  of 
deceit;  and  involves  the  conclusion,  that  he  died  a  martyr  to 
falsehood,  rather  than  a  witness  to  the  truth.  To  pretend  that 
the  council  understood  him,  by  that  name,  to  mean  no  more  than 
that  he  was  miraculously  born,  is  folly. 


72  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  i. 

The  most  of  these  objections  apply  to  the  theory  which  sup- 
poses him  to  have  become  the  Son  of  God  by  the  resurrection ; 
with  this  in  addition : — It  involves  the  falsehood  of  all  his  claims 
to  this  name;  and  of  all  the  Father's  testimonies  to  him,  prior 
to  his  resurrection.  He  did  not  say  to  the  Jews,  "I  will  become 
the  Son  of  God;"  but,  "I  am  the  Son;"  and  the  Father  says, 
"This  is  my  beloved  Son."  He  was  not  condemned  and  cruci- 
fied upon  a  charge  so  absurd, — that  he  declared  that  if  killed, 
he  would  rise  again;  but  because  he  said,  "I  am  the  Son  of  God;" 
making  himself  equal  with  God.  However  the  relation  arose, 
one  thing  is  unquestionable : — that,  alike  by  his  own,  the  Bap- 
tist's, and  the  Father's  testimony,  he  was  the  Son  of  God,  from 
the  beginning  of  his  ministry. 

We  might  appeal  to  that  large  class  of  scriptures,  which  use 
this,  as  the  highest  title  they  can  apply  to  Him  who  "  counted 
it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God."  Paul  can  find  no 
stronger  terms,  in  which  to  describe  the  condescension  and  love 
of  God,  than,  that  he  "hath  spoken  to  us  by  his  Son." — Heb.  i.  2. 
Nor  can  he  more  strongly  express  the  wickedness  of  those  who 
reject  Christ,  than  by  saying  that  they  "have  trodden  under 
foot  the  Son  of  God." — Heb.  x.  29.  In  other  places,  the  name 
is  used  as  the  peculiar  and  only  proper  designation  of  Christ,  in 
his  specific  character,  as  God.  Thus,  it  is  in  the  baptismal  ser- 
vice; wherein,  if  ever,  are  indicated  the  distinctive  relations  of 
the  Three  to  each  other  as  revealed  for  the  faith  and  adoration 
of  men.  We  might  also  point  to  the  peculiar  manner  in  which 
Jesus  and  his  apostles  use  the  title,  "the  Father,"  to  designate 
the  First  Person  of  the  Three.  Upon  these  points  we  cannot 
dwell.  There  are,  however,  two  or  three  additional  arguments, 
which  we  may  not  omit  to  notice. 

1.  If  these  names  do  not  constitute  designations,  intended  to 

announce  the  First  and  Second  Persons  of  the  Tri- 

'.,  " ..         nity,  as  distinct  subsistences  of  the  Godhead,  pe- 

consiaerations.  J  >  '  -t 

culiarly  related  to  each  other, — then  there  are  no 
such  designations.  That  "  there  are  Three  that  bear  record  in 
heaven,"  is  unquestionable.  That  their  relations  to  each  other 
must   be   several   and    distinctive,    is   equally  unquestionable. 


sect,  ix.]  The  Triune  Creator.  73 

That  the  Holy  One  has  revealed  himself  to  man,  in  the  use  of  a 
variety  of  names,  each  of  which  is  appropriated  to  the  illustra- 
tion of  some  grand  characteristic  of  the  divine  nature  and  its 
relations  to  man, — and  that  these  names,  taken  together,  serve 
to  proclaim  almost  every  important  element  in  those  character- 
istics,— every  one  knows,  who  knows  any  thing  of  his  Bible. 
That  the  Third  Person  is  made  known  by  a  name  which  is  pecu- 
liar to  him,  and  descriptive  of  his  relations  to  the  other  Persons, 
is  also  incontrovertible.  Is  it,  then,  conceivable  that  the  First 
and  Second  are  left  without  names  equally  descriptive  and  pe- 
culiar to  them,  as  subsisting  in  the  Godhead  and  concurring  in 
man's  creation  and  redemption,  each  in  his  appropriate  mode? 
Can  this  be  possible,  when  these  are  they,  as  Christ  declares, 
the  knowledge  of  whom,  in  their  several  and  united  divinity,  is 
eternal  life?    (John  xvii.  3.) 

2.  Still  more  absurd  appears  such  an  assumption,  when  we 
find  that  the  Scriptures  do  actually  reveal  the  names  of  Father 
and  Son ;  and  appropriate  them  in  such  a  way  as  precisely  to 
fill  all  the  conditions  of  the  case  here  set  forth.  In  baptism, — 
that  most  signal  act  of  homage,  in  which  the  recovered  mem- 
bers of  a  race  apostate  from  God  enter  anew  into  his  covenant, 
and  consecrate  themselves  to  him,  as  the  object  of  their  worship, 
and  the  author  of  their  salvation,  the  Triune  God, — the  Persons 
of  the  Godhead  are  announced  by  the  several  names,  "the  Father, 
the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost."  Thus  is  the  distinctive  name  of 
the  Third  Person  given ;  and  with  it  are  associated  designations 
of  the  other  Persons,  which,  thus  occurring,  we  must  conclude 
to  be  equally  appropriate,  equally  descriptive  and  divine.  This 
argument  is  yet  further  strengthened,  by  the  fact  that  there  is 
nothing  revealed,  concerning  either  the  nature  or  the  works  of 
these  blessed  Persons,  which  does  not  find  its  normal  relation 
to,  and  exposition  in,  these  names,  and  the  doctrine  which  they 
contain.  Fully  to  unfold  this  argument,  would  be  to  write  a 
volume.  And  our  present  treatise  is  designed  to  set  forth, 
imperfectly,  some  of  the  great  truths  concerning  God,  in  this 
very  aspect.  For  the  present,  it  is  enough  to  suggest,  that 
if  eternal  blessedness  is  attributed  to  these  adorable  Ones,  it  is 


74  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  i. 

as  the  Son  rejoices  always  before  the  Father  and  dwells  in  his 
bosom;  whilst  the  Father  delights  in  him,  his  beloved,  his  Son. 
If  they  are  the  Creator  of  all  things,  it  is  as  the  Father  forms 
the  plan,  and  commissions  the  Son,  his  appropriate  agent,  to 
perform  the  work.  If  the  plan  of  salvation  is  unfolded,  it  is  as 
the  Father  devises  it,  and  sends  the  Son.  And  the  Son,  on  the 
other  hand,  though  essentially  equal,  yet  thus  relatively  as  Son 
subordinate,  presents  himself,  saying,  "Lo,  I  come  to  do  thy 
will."  In  short,  he  who  will  examine  with  careful  scrutiny  the 
whole  revelation,  concerning  the  Persons  and  works  of  the  Tri- 
nity, will  discover  that  every  thing  has  its  solution  in  these 
names ;  and  the  entire  scheme  acquires  congruity  and  beauty, 
as  its  elements  cluster  around  the  central  truths  which  are  in- 
volved in  their  use,  and  asserted  in  appropriate  description  of 
the  things  signified  by  them.  In  fact,  the  unavoidable  alterna- 
tive is,  practically  to  ignore  the  fact  of  a  specific  relation  be- 
tween the  Persons  of  the  Godhead,  and  assume  that  all  which 
is  revealed  to  us  respecting  them  is,  that,  in  some  sense,  they 
are  three,  and,  in  some  other  sense,  one;  or,  else,  distinctly  to 
recognise  the  reality  and  significance  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
eternal  generation.  For,  in  the  Scriptures,  every  thing  which 
is  said  by  way  of  particular  revelation,  on  the  subject  of  the 
divine  plurality,  is  spoken  in  terms  of  this  doctrine.  Every 
thing  tends  to  present  it  as  one  of  the  essential  relations  in 
which  the  unity,  plurality  and  perfections  of  God  have  their 
solution,  and  shine  forth  to  bless  the  creatures. 

3.  Our  last  argument  the  reader  will  be  better  prepared  to 
appreciate,  when  the  discussions  of  this  volume  are  closed.  We 
merely  state  it ;  to  be  kept  in  view,  as  we  endeavour  to  unfold 
and  contemplate  the  wondrous  way  of  God  with  man.  In  the 
whole  doctrine  of  the  Bible  concerning  God  and  man,  the  names 
and  the  relations  of  father  and  son  occupy  a  position  of  signal 
importance.  However  to  be  explained,  they  are  used,  as  we 
have  seen,  in  a  most  intimate  relation  to  the  nature  of  God  him- 
self and  the  creation  of  all  things.  In  them,  we  have  the  terms 
of  the  problem  respecting  the  ruin  of  our  race, — Adam  our 
father  and  his  sons.     In  the  plan  of  redemption,  Christ  appears 


sect,  x.]  The  Triune  Creator.  75 

alternately,  Son  of  man,  bearing  the  curse, — Son  of  God,  tri- 
umphing over  Satan  and  death, — and  father  of  a  seed,  who  are 
redeemed  by  his  blood.  In  the  consummation  of  the  work  of 
grace,  God  proclaims  himself  our  Father;  and  the  full  glory  of 
that  love  and  grace  of  God,  which  has  embraced  our  world,  cul- 
minates in  the  adoption  of  sons,  and  the  privileges  and  inherit- 
ance thence  resulting,  on  earth  and  forever  in  heaven.  To  us, 
these  facts,  which  give  the  Scriptures  all  their  lustre,  and  make 
the  love  and  grace  of  God  to  shine  in  an  ineffable  light,  are 
utterly  irreconcilable  with  the  supposition  that  the  relations, 
paternal  and  filial,  thus  honoured,  are  relations  merely  human. 
Is  it  conceivable,  that  the  glorious  nature  of  God  and  Persons 
of  the  Godhead,  the  history  of  man,  and  the  several  steps  in  the 
scheme  of  God's  eternal  glory  and  man's  unending  bliss,  all  re- 
volve as  satellites  around  a  relation  purely  human, — a  relation 
limited  to  the  earth,  and  destined  to  perish  with  the  passing 
scenes  of  time  ?  This  seems  especially  absurd,  when  we  remem- 
ber the  fact  of  man's  destination  to  be  the  image  and  likeness 
of  God;  and  the  purpose  of  the  whole  work  of  God  to  be,  the 
revelation  and  glory, — not  of  man,  but  of  God.  Of  all  this  we 
shall  see  more  hereafter. 

z  11.  Sim  of  Brown  of  Haddington  compresses  the  scriptural 

the  scriptural  evidence,  as  to  the  eternal  generation,  into  a  few 
argument.  brief  paragraphs,  which  are  here  presented,  as  a 

recapitulation  of  the  Bible  argument. 

"  He  is  not  the  Son  of  God  by  his  miraculous  conception  and 
birth.  (1.)  The  Holy  Ghost  is  never  represented  as  his  Father, 
nor  could  be,  without  admitting  two  fathers  in  the  Godhead. 
That  'holy  thing  born'  is  called  the  Son  of  God,  because  his 
manhood  subsisted  in  the  person  of  the  Son  of  God. — Luke  i.  35. 
He  had  the  character  and  relation  of  Son  of  God,  long  before 
his  conception  or  birth. — Prov.  xxx.  4;  Psalm  ii.  7;  Gal.  iv.  4; 
John  iii.  16,  17.  (2.)  According  to  his  human  nature  or  flesh, 
he  is  the  Son  of  man, — of  Abraham,  David, — and  not  the  Son  of 
God.  (3.)  His  being  'made  of  a  woman'  was  subsequent  to  his 
being  the  Son  of  God. — Romans  viii.  3,  32;  Gal.  iv.  4.  (4.)  His 
extraordinary  conception  and  birth  could  never  render  him  'the 


76  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  i. 

only  begotten  Son  of  God,'  as  he  is  termed, — John  i.  14,  and  iii. 
16,  18;  1  John  iv.  9;  since  Adam  was  his  son  by  creation,  and 
Isaac,  Jacob,  Joseph,  Samson,  Samuel,  and  John  Baptist,  were 
procreated  by  extraordinary  influence;  tho'  indeed  very  differ- 
ent from  that  which  was  exerted  in  the  production  of  Christ's 
manhood. 

"  Nor  is  he  called  the  Son  of  God,  on  account  of  God's  raising 
him  from  the  dead;  for  (1)  He  was  the  Son  of  God  long  before. 
—Matt.  iii.  17,  xvii.  5;  John  v.  16,  17,  x.  30,  36;  Markxiv.  61, 
62;  Matt.  xvi.  15, 16;  John  vi.  69,  i.  49.  (2.)  If  his  resurrection 
had  rendered  him  the  Son  of  God,  he  would  have  been  his  own 
father,  as  he  raised  himself. — John  x.  17,  18,  ii.  19.  (3.)  This 
could  not  have  rendered  him  'the  only  begotten  Son  of  God;'  as 
millions  beside  have  or  shall  be  raised  from  the  dead. — Matt, 
xxvii.  52,  53;  John  v.  28,  29;  1  Thess.  iv.  14,  16;  Eev.  xx.  12. 
Nor  doth  Acts  xiii.  33  import  that  he  became  Son  of  God  by  his 
resurrection,  but  that  his  sonship  was  manifested  by  it,  (compare 
Rom.  i.  3,  4 ;)  and  that  his  resurrection  publicly  proved  that  the 
word  of  salvation,  particularly  that  Psalm  ii.  7,  8,  was  then  ex- 
hibited, given,  and  fulfilled  to  men. 

"Nor  doth  his  mediatorial  office  constitute  him  the  Son  of 
God.  (1.)  A  mission  on  an  errand,  or  an  appointment  to  service, 
cannot,  in  the  nature  of  things,  constitute  sonship.  (2.)  His  son- 
ship  is  represented  as  prior  to  his  commission  to,  or  execution 
of,  his  mediatorial  office. — John  iii.  16 ;  Gal.  iv.  4 ;  1  John  iv.  9, 10, 
iii.  8;  Heb.  v.  8.  (3.)  His  divine  sonship  puts  virtue  into  his 
mediatorial  office;  and  so  cannot  depend  on  it. — Heb.  iv.  14. 
(4.)  His  being  'from  the  Father'  in  respect  to  his  sonship  is  ex- 
pressly distinguished  from  his  being  '  sent'  to  execute  his  media- 
torial office. — John  vii.  29. 

"  But  he  is  the  Son  of  God  by  necessary  and  eternal  genera- 
tion ; — that  is,  by  such  necessity,  that  the  divine  nature  cannot 
at  all  exist  without  subsisting  in  him,  in  the  form  and  relation 
of  a  Son  to  the  First  Person.  (1.)  In  many  texts  of  Scripture, 
he  is  simply  called  the  Son  of  God,  and  in  that  character  repre- 
sented as  the  Most  High  God,  the  Lord  God  of  his  people,  the 
Lord  God,  God  the  Saviour.— Luke  i.  16, 17,  32,  35,  46,  47,— as 


sect,  xi.]  The  Triune  Creator.  77 

coming  from  heaven  and  above  all, — John  iii.  31;  Matt.  xi.  27, 
— and  as  the  object  of  faith  and  worship, — John  iii.  17,  36,  ix. 
35-38;  Matt.  iv.  33,  xxvii.  54, — or  as  the  same  with  God, — Heb. 
i.  8;  1  John  iii.  8,  with  1  Tim.  iii.  16, — and  as  equal  with  his 
Father. — Matt,  xxviii.  19;  John  v.  21.  (2.)  God  hath  given  the 
most  solemn  and  emphatic  testimonies  to  his  divine  sonship. — 
Matt.  iii.  17,  xvii.  5.  The  first  of  these  texts,  literally  translated, 
runs,  '  This  is  that  my  Son,  my  beloved  one,  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased.'  And  in  the  other,  we  are  commanded  to  'hear  him,' 
as  infinitely  superior  to  Moses  and  Elias,  his  then  visitants,  who 
had  been  the  most  extraordinary  of  all  the  Old  Testament  pro- 
phets  (3.)  The  Scriptures  represent  him  as  God's  'own  Son,' 

his  'proper  Son,'  his  'Son  of  himself.' — John  i.  14,  18,  iii.  16,  18; 
Bom.  viii.  3,  32;  1  John  iv.  9,  12.  If  these  expressions  do  not 
represent  him  as  the  Son  by  natural  generation,  what  can  do  it  ? 
(4.)  His  being  the  Christ,  Messiah,  or  Mediator  is  plainly  distin- 
guished from  his  being  the  Son  of  God. — John  i.  49,  vi.  69 ;  Matt, 
xvi.  16;  Heb.  v.  8;  1  John  iv.  14.  (5.)  When  he  was  charged 
with  blasphemy  in  making  himself  equal  with  God,  by  calling 
himself  the  Son  of  God,  he  plainly  acquiesced  in  their  interpre- 
tation of  his  words ;  and,  instead  of  showing  them  that  his  claim 
of  sonship  to  God,  did  not  infer  his  claim  of  equality  with  God, 
he  took  occasion  further  to  assert  and  demonstrate  his  supreme 
Godhead.— John  v.  16-29,  x.  30-36,  xix.  7;  Matt.  xxvi.  63-65. 
Nay,  perhaps,  'making  himself  equal  with  God,'  John  v.  18, 
are  not  the  words  of  the  persecuting  Jews,  but  of  the  inspired 
evangelist.  (6.)  It  was  not  from  acts  properly  mediatorial,  but 
from  divine  acts,  that  he  was  concluded  to  be  the  Son  of  God. — 
Matt.  iv.  3,  6,  xiv.  33,  xxvii.  40,  54;  John  i.  49.  (7.)  If  the  title, 
Son  of  man,  import  his  possession  of  a  real  manhood,  his  cha- 
racter, Son  of  God,  God's  proper  Son,  Son  of  himself,  and  only 
begotten  Son  of  God,  must  certainly  import  his  possession  of  the 
divine  nature, — true  and  supreme  Godhead.  Now,  if  he  be  the 
Son  of  God,  by  nature,  he  must  be  his  eternal  Son,  begotten 
from  all  eternity;  for  nothing  that  is  not  necessarily  eternal  in 
the  highest  sense,  can  be  natural  to  God.  Nor  is  there  the 
least  impropriety  in  God's  calling  his  own  eternity,  'this  Jay,'  as 


78  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  i. 

an  unsuccessive  eternity  is  ever  present. — Ps.  ii.  7,  with  Isa.  xliii. 
13;  Micali  v.  2.  Nor  is  the  generation  of  his  Son  there  repre- 
sented as  an  event  decreed,  but  as  antecedent  to,  or  fundamental 
of,  God's  grant  of  the  Gentiles  to  him  for  his  mediatorial  inhe- 
ritance."* 

The  evidence  at  which  we  have  glanced,  abundantly  esta- 
blishes the  position  that  the  name,  Father,  is  that  by  which  the 
<j  12  Then  c  -First  Person  of  the  Trinity  is  designated,  in  respect 
trine  of  the  to  his  distinctive  personality,  in  the  unity  of  the 
Trinity.  Godhead; — that,  reciprocal  to  this,  the  name,  Son, 

is  appropriated  in  like  manner  to  the  Second  Person; — and, 
that  the  relation  which  they  sustain  to  each  other  is  appro- 
priately described  in  terms  of  the  phenomenon  of  begetting  or 
generation.  It  is  not  questioned,  by  any  who  believe  in  the 
Trinity,  that  the  name,  Holy  Spirit,  is  the  distinctive  title  of  the 
divine  nature  as  subsisting  in  the  Third  Person  of  the  Godhead. 
Thus  we  have  the  mystery  of  the  blessed  Trinity  clearly  set 
forth,  to  our  apprehension  and  worship,  in  the  names  here  con- 
sidered; by  the  use  of  which,  in  the  ordinance  of  baptism,  we 
profess  and  seal  our  faith. 

As  to  the  meaning  of  these  names  and  of  the  corresponding 
phraseology  of  Scripture,  we  can  say  but  little.  Man's  darkened 
understanding  only  comes  to  any  adequate  sense  of  its  own  ruin, 
in  the  presence  of  the  questions  concerning  the  nature  of  that 
holy  and  glorious  One,  in  whose  likeness  he  was  originally  made ; 
of  whom  he  is  now  able  to  understand  so  little.  And,  al- 
though this  is  eternal  life,  to  know  the  only  true  God,  and 
Jesus  Christ  his  Son, — the  knowledge  enjoyed  by  the  believer 
here,  consists  rather  in  an  affectionate  embrace,  than  in  large 
intellectual  conceptions  respecting  the  nature  of  Him  who  is  thus 
known.  In  heaven  it  will  be  otherwise : — "  We  shall  see  as  we 
are  seen,  and  know  even  as  also  we  are  known."  Yet  are  there 
two  or  three  points  so  plainly  revealed,  that  it  is  our  privilege 
to  believe  and  assert  them  as  truths;  however  dull  our  appre- 
hensions, as  to  their  meaning. 

1.  Such  is  the  relation  which  the  First  and  Second  Persons 

*  Brown's  Natural  and  Revealed  Religion,  Book  II.  ch.  ii.  \  2. 


sect.  xi.J  The  Triune  Creator.  79 

sustain  to  each  other,  as  to  the  manner  of  their  subsistence,  that 
the  one  infinite  nature  is  communicated  from  the  Father  to  the 
Son,  in  a  generation,  not  voluntary,  but  of  the  very  nature  of 
the  divine  essence; — a  generation  which  is  not  occasional,  but 
continual ;  which  does  not  originate,  but  is  from  everlasting  and 
to  everlasting ;  and  in  which,  each  of  those  blessed  Persons  pos- 
sesses the  whole  infinite  fulness  of  the  divine  essence,  not  jointly, 
but  in  common  and  undivided.* 

2.  Whilst  this  wondrous  generation  of  the  Son  does  indicate 
a  priority  of  the  Father,  in  the  order  of  subsistence  and  of  ope- 
ration,— yet  is  it  so  far  from  implying  any  essential  or  real  in- 
feriority in  the  Son,  that  it  involves  directly  the  reverse.  A 
superficial  view  might  suggest  the  idea  that  analogy  is  opposed 
to  the  equality  of  father  and  son.  But  in  fact,  even  among  men, 
the  difference  is  merely  one  of  order  and  precedence  of  action, 
dependent  upon  temporal  relations,  and  reasons  of  social  conve- 
nience. Essentially,  they  are  equal ;  possessing  the  same  nature, 
and  endowed  with  the  same  attributes.  The  Jews,  seeking  to 
kill  Jesus,  "because  he  said  that  God  was  his  Father,  making 
himself  equal  with  God," — John  v.  18,  were  correct  in  the  conclu- 
sion which  they  derived  from  the  language  of  Christ;  and  fully 
sustained  by  analogy,  in  coming  to  that  conclusion. 

3.  As  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  mode  of  his  subsistence  is  by  a 
necessary  and  eternal  communication  of  the  same  divine  essence, 
which  is  in  the  Father  and  Son,  not  by  generation,  but  by  a  spi- 
ration  or  breathing  forth,  from  them;  through  which  the  Third 
Person  has  communion  in  the  divine  nature  coequally  with  the 
First  and  Second.  Here  the  remark,  already  made  respecting 
the  Son,  is  to  be  applied; — that  the  relation  thus  subsisting  is  one 
of  essential  equality;  inasmuch  as  it  involves  the  possession  by 
each  of  the  whole  fulness  of  the  one  divine  essence,  in  which 
each  Person  equally  and  wholly  subsists. 

*  "Ut  omnis  generatio  elicit  eoiuniuriicationeni  essentias  a  parte  gignentis  genito,  per 
quam  genitus  fiat  similis  gignenti,  et  eandem  cum  ipso  naturam  participet;  ita  genera- 
tio  ista  admirabilis  recte  exponitur  per  eommunicationem  essentia}  a  Patre,  per  quem 
eandem  cum  illo  essentiam  Filius  indivisibiliter  possidet,  et  ill!  sit  simillimus." — Turret- 
tin.,  Loc.  III.,  Qurest.  xxix.  4. 


80  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  i. 

4.  Not  only  are  these  Persons  of  the  Godhead  coequal,  but 
coeternal.  Although  the  phenomena  of  generation  and  spira- 
tion,  as  observed  in  men,  intimate — as  do  all  phenomena  of  crea- 
tures— finite  origin  and  temporal  succession,  this  suggestion  is 
precluded  in  the  cases  here  considered,  by  the  fact  that  the 
phenomena  are  predicated  of  the  very  nature  of  God.  And  as 
every  idea  of  beginning  or  change  is  incompatible  with  true 
conceptions  respecting  that  nature,  it  follows,  that  the  Three 
are  equally  and  alike  unoriginated  and  eternal, — a  conclusion 
abundantly  attested  by  the  Scriptures. 

5.  From  the  whole  doctrine  here  stated,  it  will  be  seen  that 
it  would  be  improper  to  speak  of  any  one  of  the  Persons  as 
God,  in  contradistinction  to  the  rest.  Whilst  each  one  is 
God,  it  is  by  a  common  and  not  a  several  divinity;  by  virtue  of 
the  common  possession  of  the  one  undivided  divine  essence.  It  is 
objected  that  the  assertion  of  three  divine  Persons  is  equivalent 
to  saying  that  there  are  three  Gods.  But  the  objection  is 
groundless.  A  person  is  a  several  subsistence,  endowed  with  a 
moral  nature.  And  although  there  be  three  several  subsistences 
in  the  divine  nature,  and  therefore  three  Persons,  this  is  per- 
fectly consistent  with  the  unity  of  the  Godhead;  since  the  nature 
or  essence  in  which  these  Three  subsist  is  a  unit.  There  is 
"one  Lord,  and  his  name  one." — Zech.  xiv.  9. 

Should  any  object  to  the  phraseology  employed  in  this  dis- 
cussion; and  insist  that  the  various  expressions  used,  such  as, 
"communication,"  "begetting,"  "generation,"  "spiration,"  are 
expressive  of  finite  and  human  relations;  and,  by  the  very  force 
of  the  terms,  involve  the  supposition  that  the  relations  so  de- 
scribed are  of  a  finite  nature  and  temporal  origin, — our  reply 
is, — that  if  the  nature  of  God  were  described  in  terms  peculiar 
to  it  alone,  the  result  would  be  to  render  the  account  utterly 
unintelligible; — that  most  of  the  objectionable  expressions  are 
the  very  words  of  the  Scripture;  and  all  of  them  abundantly 
authorized  by  scriptural  usage; — and  that,  as  we  have  suffi- 
ciently seen,  the  manner  in  which  they  are  introduced,  and  the 
subjects  to  which  they  are  applied,  obviate  any  danger  of  mis- 
apprehension on  the  part  of  the  candid  and  teachable.     In  fact, 


sect,  xii.]  The  Triune  Creator.  81 

there  are  very  few  words  employed  in  the  Bible,  to  designate 
divine  perfections,  which  do  not  require  to  be  understood  in  a 
sense  different  from  that  recognised  in  their  application  to  other 
things.  We  are  justified,  by  the  usage  of  the  sacred  writers, 
in  attributing  thought,  deliberation  and  decision,  to  God. 
Yet  a  moment's  reflection  must  satisfy  the  intelligent  reader, 
that  it  is  as  impossible  for  our  finite  capacities  to  conceive  of 
these,  divested  of  relation  to  time,  as  so  to  conceive  of  genera- 
tion.    The  attempt  is  vain  by  searching  to  find  out  God. 

The  object  of  this  discussion  has  been, — not  so  much  a  full 
exposition  of  the  doctrine  concerning  the  nature  of  God, — as,  a 
notice  of  some  of  the  aspects  of  that  nature,  which,  commonly, 
are  less  insisted  upon,  and  which  sustain  very  important  rela- 
tions to  the  doctrines  of  the  following  pages. 

The  Three  whom  we  have  here  seen,  in  revealed,  yet  myste- 
rious relations  to  each  other,  are  that  one  God  whom  we  adore, 
— a  spirit,  infinite,  eternal,  and  unchangeable :  in  his  being,  wis- 
dom, power,  holiness,  justice,  goodness,  and  truth;  by  whom  all 
things  were  created,  and  for  whose  pleasure  they  are,  and  were 
created.  Unto  Him  be  glory  in  the  church,  by  Christ  Jesus, 
throughout  all  ages,  world  without  end.     Amen. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   ETERNAL   PLAN. 
"His  ways  are  everlasting." — Habbakuk  iii.  6. 

It  would  be  extreme  folly,  or  madness,  were  an  individual  to 
expend  toil  and  money,  in  the  construction  of  a  vast  and  com- 
i  1.  wisdom  plicated  piece  of  mechanism,  without  having  fixed 
demands  an  on  any  specific  object  to  be  accomplished  by  it. 
obJcct-  The  same  charge  would  apply,  if,  having  a  purpose 

in  view,  he  should  proceed,  without  careful  consideration  so  as 
to  adapt  his  means  to  the  proposed  end ;  or  should  he  devise  a 
suitable  plan  and  place  it  in  the  hands  of  the  superintendent, 
whilst  individual  workmen  are  permitted  to  act  independently 
of  that  plan,  and  to  use  such  materials  and  work  to  such  a 
model  as  may  happen  to  suit  their  convenience  or  strike  their 
fancy.  In  short,  no  intelligent  person  will  bring  his  resources 
to  task,  without  setting  before  himself  some  specific  and  suitable 
end ;  it  is  the  part  of  a  wise  man,  proposing  to  himself  such  an 
end,  to  devise  a  plan  as  perfect  in  all  its  parts  as  possible,  and 
in  its  execution  to  use  such  materials,  labourers  and  machinery, 
and  such  only,  as  are  precisely  suited  to  the  end  in  view ;  and, 
to  secure  success,  strict  attention  is  as  requisite  to  the  minutest 
details  as  to  the  more  extensive  features.  Not  only  so,  but, 
where  an  enterprise  has  been  undertaken,  failure  in  any  of  its 
parts  is  proof  either  of  ignorance  or  of  want  of  forethought 
and  deficiency  of  resources ;  as  it  is  certain  that  he  who  has  fully 
comprehended  the  obstacles  which  lie  in  his  way,  unless  he  is 
conscious  of  resources  adequate  to  surmount  them,  will  abandon 
the  plan  as  sure  to  fail. 

These  principles  are  as  applicable  to  the  works  of  God,  as  to 
those  of  man.     "  Known  unto  God  are  all  his  works  from  the  be- 

S2 


sect,  i.]  The  Eternal  Plan.  83 

ginning  of  the  world." — Acts  xv.  18.  If  it  is  a  characteristic  of 
rational  creatures  that  their  acts  are  prompted  by  the  expectation 
of  attaining  suitable  ends,  how  much  more  must  it  be  with  Him 
whose  understanding  is  infinite  !  The  existence  of  the  simplest 
piece  of  mechanism,  the  product  of  human  labour,  demonstrates 
the  maker  to  have  had  an  object  in  view.  What  then  must  be 
our  conclusion,  as  we  behold  the  creation  of  God ;  the  heavens, 
the  work  of  his  fingers,  the  moon  and  the  stars  which  he  hath 
ordained,  in  all  their  astonishing  structure  and  motions,  our  own 
bodies,  so  fearfully  and  wonderfully  made,  and  the  innumerable 
beings  which  fill  and  people  earth  and  heaven  !  Can  we  believe 
that  He,  who  in  wisdom  made  them  all,  had  no  object  in  so  doing? 
The  Scriptures  are  unambiguous  in  their  testimony  on  this  sub- 
ject. They  declare  the  glory  of  the  Creator  to  be  the  great 
end  of  all  his  works. 

Let  us  for  a  moment  forget  that  the  teeming  universe  has 
existence,  and  contemplate  that  eternity  where  Jehovah  dwelt 
from  everlasting.  When,  in  the  council  of  the  blessed  Three, 
creation  was  decreed,  where  shall  we  look  for  the  motive  of  this 
determination?  Certainly  not  to  the  creatures  which  as  yet 
have  no  existence.  To  operate  as  a  motive,  to  exercise  an  in- 
fluence, implies  existence  already  possessed.  But  here,  the  very 
question  is,  whether  such  beings  shall  be  called  into  existence. 
Plainly,  the  motive  in  such  a  case,  must  be  sought,  not  in  the 
possible  creatures,  who  may,  as  the  result,  receive  existence,  but 
in  the  Being  who  is  at  once  sole  Existence  and  only  Cause.  Let 
it  not,  however,  be  imagined  that  this  reason  consisted  in  any 
need  of  the  Creator ;  as  though  by  this  means  he  could  acquire 
any  new  power,  pleasure,  or  emolument.  This  would,  in  any 
aspect  of  the  supposition,  be  the  contradiction  and  absurdity  of 
supposing  the  creature,  which  receives  its  existence  and  all 
that  is  in  it  from  him,  and  which  lives  and  moves  in  him,  to 
have  something  which  is  not  from  its  Creator,  the  acquisition  of 
which  may  be  profitable  to  him.  But  the  very  name  which  he 
proclaims  rebukes  the  impious  suggestion  : — "  I  am  that  I  am. 
This  is  my  name  forever,  and  this  is  my  memorial  to  all 


84  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  ii. 

generations." — Ex.  iii.  14,  15.  "  I  am  that  I  am," — the  self- 
existent,  self-poised,  independent,  unchangeable,  eternal. 

The  sole  reason  of  the  creation  was  the  mere  good  pleasure, 
the  will,  of  the  Creator.  Hence  the  adoring  song  of  the  elders : 
I  2.  God's  ob-  — "  Thou  art  worthy,  0  Lord,  to  receive  glory,  and 
ject  was  to  re-  honour,  and  power ;  for  thou  hast  created  all  things, 
veal  himself.  an(j  ^^  T^  Q^fid  Goo,)  because  of  thy  will  they  are, 
and  were  created." — Eev.  iv.  11.  Thus,  originating  in  the 
Creator's  will,  as  its  only  cause,  the  creation  has  been  by  him 
destined  to  one  great  end,  the  revelation  of  God,  the  shedding 
abroad  of  his  own  glory.  This  is  accomplished  by  the  putting 
forth  of  such  an  agency  and  operation,  as  discovers  the  glory  of 
the  several  Persons  who  coexist  in  the  unity  of  the  divine 
nature ;  and  by  the  distinctive  unfolding  and  exercise  of  the  several 
attributes  which  go  to  make  up  the  infinite  perfection  of  God. 
In  two  ways  is  creation  adapted  thus  to  glorify  God ;  as  every 
creature  is  an  object  in  which  the  divine  attributes  are  revealed 
in  exercise;  and  as  intelligent  creatures  celebrate  and  adore  the 
glory  thus  revealed ;  so,  proclaiming  it  to  each  other. 

That  such  was  the  design  of  the  creation,  is  asserted  in  many 
scriptures.  "  Of  him,  and  through  him,  and  to  him,  are  all 
things,  to  whom  be  glory  forever.  Amen." — Rom.  xi.  36.  "I 
am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  ending,  saith  the 
Lord,  which  is,  and  which  was,  and  which  is  to  come,  the 
Almighty." — Eev.  i.  8.  "The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of 
God." — Ps.  xix.  1.  "The  invisible  things  of  him,  from  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world,  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the 
things  that  are  made;  even  his  eternal  power  and  Godhead." — 
Rom.  i.  20.  Of  the  wicked  it  is  testified  that  "  the  Lord  hath 
made  all  things  for  himself,  yea,  even  the  wicked  for  the  day  of 
evil." — Prov.  xvi.  4.  To  Pharaoh,  in  his  rebellion,  God  says, 
"  In  very  deed  for  this  cause  have  I  raised  thee  up ;  for  to  show 
in  thee  my  power,  and  that  my  name  may  be  declared  through- 
out all  the  earth." — Ex.  ix.  16.  From  this  language,  Paul  takes  oc- 
casion to  ask,  "  What,  if  God,  willing  to  show  his  wrath  and  to  make 
his  power  known,  endured  with  much  long-suffering  the  vessels 
of  wrath  fitted  to  destruction  ?" — R,om.  ix.  22.      On  the  other 


sect,  i.]  The  Eternal  Plan.  85 

hand,  the  Lord  says  of  the  righteous,  "  Every  one  that  is  called 
by  my  name,  I  have  created  him  for  my  glory." — Isa.  xliii.  7. 
The  apostle  urges,  "Ye  are  not  your  own,  for  ye  are  bought 
with  a  price ;  therefore  glorify  God  in  your  body,  and  in  your 
spirit,  which  are  God's." — 1  Cor.  vi.  20.  If  rendering  glory 
to  God  be  the  best  acknowledgment  we  can  make  to  re- 
deeming- love,  that  must  be  the  end  to  which  we  are  made  and 
redeemed.  In  accordance  with  this  are  the  songs  of  heaven,  of 
angels,  and  of  the  redeemed.  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest!"  is 
their  strain,  their  hearts  glowing  with  adoring  raptures,  and 
their  lips  exulting  in  the  harmony  of  praise.  "  Blessing,  and 
honour,  and  glory,  and  power,  be  unto  him  that  sitteth  upon  the 
throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb,  for  ever  and  ever." — Rev.  v.  13. 
This  general  purpose  of  God  to  display  his  own  glory  does  not 
exclude,  but  comprehends,  as  elements  of  it,  those  secondary  ends 
which  assume  so  much  importance,  in  the  estimation  of  the 
creatures;  such  as  the  exercise  of  his  goodness,  love,  justice, 
faithfulness,  mercy  and  truth.  These,  severally,  are  but  the 
partial  radiations  of  that  glory  which  consists  in  the  harmony 
and  fulness  of  them  all  combined. 

This  purpose  of  God  to  reveal  himself,  implies  much  more 
than  at  first  may  be  imagined.  It  involves  the  existence  of  in- 
telligent creatures,  capable  of  receiving  such  a  revelation;  as 
well  as  of  instrumentalities  through  which  it  may  be  made.  It 
further  implies  the  revelation  to  the  intelligences  and  appre- 
hension by  them  of  God,  in  the  true  beauty  and  glory  of  his 
nature  as  he  really  is.  Not  only  must  the  light  shine ;  but,  as 
it  shines,  it  must  be  seen  in  its  true  lustre  as  light.  To  suppose 
any  thing  else,  is  to  imagine  a  failure  in  the  attempted  revela- 
tion. But  there  is  no  other  conceivable  spring  of  the  highest 
happiness  to  the  creatures,  so  full  and  unfailing  as  this, — to  ap- 
prehend and  appreciate,  in  their  real  excellence  and  glory,  the 
perfections  of  God.  The  creature  who  does  this,  cannot  but  be 
blessed  in  the  contemplation.  It  is  no  arbitrary  dictum  which 
is  uttered  by  the  Saviour,  when  he  says,  "  This  is  eternal  life, 
that  they  might  know  thee,  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ 
whom  thou  hast  sent." — John  xvii.  3.     It  is  the  necessary  effect 


86  The  EloJdm  Revealed.  [chap.  ii. 

of  a  realizing  apprehension  of  the  perfections  which  shine  in  the 
nature  of  God.  Hence,  this  is  the  fountain  to  which,  in  the 
Scriptures,  are  traced  all  the  joys  of  heaven  itself.  The  inhabit- 
ants are  blessed  in  the  fact  that  they  behold  and  celebrate  the 
glory  of  God.  Thus,  then,  we  find  involved,  as  an  essential 
element  in  the  great  end  proposed  by  God,  infinite  blessedness  to 
the  creatures,  which  he  has  thus  seen  good  to  identify  with  his 
own  declarative  glory. 

Proposing  such  ends  as  we  have  thus  shown,  God  in  the  be- 
ginning formed  a  perfect  plan  for  the  accomplishment  of  his 
§  3.  An  eter-  purpose ; — a  plan,  perfect  in  that  it  is  precisely 
nalpim.  adapted  to  the  end  proposed;  and  perfect  in  the  com- 

pleteness of  all  the  details,  and  adaptation  of  every  minutest 
element  of  it  to  its  distinctive  office,  and  in  the  entire  symmetry 
and  harmony  of  the  whole.  In  this  fact  we  have  the  key  to  that 
name  of  Wisdom,  which  we  have  seen  belongs  to  the  Son  of  God; 
and  to  the  style  in  which  he  speaks,  in  the  book  of  Proverbs  : — 
"  The  Lord  possessed  me  in  the  beginning  of  his  way,  before  his 
works  of  old."  "  When  he  prepared  the  heavens,  I  was  there : 
when  he  set  a  compass  upon  the  face  of  the  depth :  when  he 
established  the  clouds  above :  when  he  strengthened  the  fountains 
of  the  deep :  when  he  gave  to  the  sea  his  decree,  that  the  waters 
should  not  pass  his  commandment :  when  he  appointed  the  foun- 
dations of  the  earth  :  then  I  was  by  him,  as  one  brought  up  with 
him." — Prov.  viii.  22-30.  Here,  it  is  undoubtedly  the  Son  of 
God  who  speaks.  But  it  is  he,  as  from  everlasting  he  was  present 
with  the  Father,  in  the  characteristic  exercise  of  infinite  wisdom, 
concurring  in  a  glorious  scheme  of  creation,  providence  and 
redemption,  of  which  he,  in  time,  by  that  same  name,  appears  as 
the  sole  glorious  administrator,  and  at  length,  in  his  own  incarnate 
person,  the  embodiment  and  consummation.  In  him  the  whole 
wisdom  of  God  which  shines  in  his  other  works,  concen- 
trates its  scattered  rays.  "  The  Lord  by  wisdom  hath  founded 
the  earth;  by  understanding  hath  he  established  the  heavens." — 
Prov.  iii.  19.  The  testimony  of  Paul  to  the  Ephesians  is  very 
clear  and  explicit  on  this  subj  ect.  He  says  of  the  elect,  that  the 
Father  hath  chosen  them  in  Christ,  "  before  the  foundation  of 


sect,  ii.]  The  Eternal  Plan.  87 

the  world,  that  we  should  be  holy  and  without  blame  before  him 
in  love ;  having  predestinated  us  unto  the  adoption  of  children 
by  Jesus  Christ  to  himself,  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  his 
will,  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his  grace,  wherein  he  hath 
made  us  accepted  in  the  Beloved ;  .  .  .  .  having  made  known  unto 
us  the  mystery  of  his  will,  according  to  his  good  pleasure,  which 
he  hath  purposed  in  himself;  that  in  the  dispensation  of  the  ful- 
ness of  times  he  might  gather  together  in  one  all  things  in  Christ, 
both  which  are  in  heaven,  and  which  are  on  earth,  even  in  him ; 
in  whom  also  we  have  obtained  an  inheritance,  being  predesti- 
nated, according  to  the  purpose  of  him  who  worketh  all  things 
after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will ;  that  we  should  be  to  the  praise 
of  his  glory." — Eph.  i.  4-12.  Here  the  apostle  attributes  all 
things  to  the  divine  will  as  their  only  reason  and  cause.  The 
adoption  is  "  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  his  will;"  and  the 
gospel  is  made  known  as  "the  mystery  of  his  will,  according  to 
his  good  pleasure,  which  he  hath  purposed  in  himself."  He 
describes  the  whole  dispensation  of  God's  government,  as  designed 
"  to  the  praise  of  his  glory."  He  represents  the  plan  of  salva- 
tion, as  one  element  in  a  scheme,  in  conformity  with  which  the 
divine  government  in  all  its  details  is  dispensed.  God  "worketh 
all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will."  He  speaks  of  "the 
dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  times," — the  providential  adminis- 
tration,— as  the  development  of  this  original  plan,  Not  only  so, 
but  the  date  of  the  whole  design  and  plan  is  given, — "  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world."  Equally  clear  is  the  testimony  of  God, 
by  Isaiah: — "  I  am  God,  and  there  is  none  else;  I  am  God,  and 
there  is  none  like  me ;  declaring  the  end  from  the  beginning, 
and  from  ancient  times  the  things  that  are  not  yet  done,  saying, 
My  counsel  shall  stand,  and  I  will  do  all  my  pleasure." — Isa. 
xlvi.  9,  10. 

Designed,  as  was  the  plan,  to  reveal  the  perfections  of  God 
to  creatures  of  limited  capacities,  the  scheme  was  adapted  to  the 
purpose,  by  providing  a  system  of  gradually  unfolding  parts. 
He  who  could,  in  an  instant,  have  finished  his  whole  work,  con- 
descends to  carry  it  forward  step  by  step,  in  a  process  which 
at  first  presents  the  simplest  truths,  and  from  them  proceeds  to 


88  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  ii. 

those  which  are  more  profound.  Thus,  whilst  no  creature  is 
ever  able  to  exhaust  or  fully  comprehend  even  the  elementary 
principles,  yet  is  any  intelligent  creature  enabled  to  learn  enough 
to  constitute  a  fountain  of  eternal  admiration,  joy  and  hap- 
piness. 

Here,  it  is  not  to  be  imagined  that  the  Creator  acted  indeed 
upon  a  plan  comprehending  the  larger  masses  and  the  leading 
„     ,        ,       events,  but  did  not  descend  to  the  insignificant  de- 

§4.  It  includes  '  .  ,  . 

the  minutest  tails,  nor  form  a  scheme  of  the  little  things.  Every 
things.  argument  which   proves  any  plan  at  all,  demon- 

strates that  plan  to  have  comprehended  the  minutest  de- 
tails. The  small  dust  of  the  balance  is  itself  a  distinct  crea- 
tion of  God.  It  is  endowed  with  certain  properties,  attractions, 
and  impressibilities,  adapting  it  to  perform  a  specific  part,  and 
that,  essential  to  the  development  and  support  of  the  larger 
features  of  the  design.  It  follows,  that,  in  giving  it  this  precise 
constitution,  the  Creator  designed  it  to  accomplish  these  very 
purposes ;  or  else  that  he  made  it  so  without  a  specific  design,  and 
the  result  is  happy  accident !  The  effects  flowing  from  these 
little  things  have  been,  from  the  beginning,  propagated  until 
now ;  and  will  be  till  the  end  of  time.  This  capacity  to  propa- 
gate influences,  manifestly  constitutes  them  means  to  the  great 
end, — the  display  of  God's  glory ;  and  involves  the  conclusion  that 
to  this  end  they  were  created.  In  short,  the  infinite  One,  in 
giving  each  atom  existence,  declares  himself  to  have  some  end 
in  view,  worthy  of  God,  and  to  which  that  atom  is  competent. 
Thus  formed  by  his  wisdom,  and  designed  for  his  purposes,  it 
cannot  be  beneath,  or  fail  to  enjoy,  his  constant  care.  In  fact, 
the  pretence  that  the  atom  or  the  insect  is  too  insignificant  to 
glorify  its  Creator,  is  alike  unphilosophical  and  impious.  Who 
can  but  realize  emotions  of  adoring  wonder;  as  he  sees  the  tints 
which  adorn  the  flowers  of  the  field,  painted  by  the  same  hand 
which  gave  the  sun  his  splendour  and  the  moon  her  majesty? 
What  admiration  fills  the  heart,  which,  having  looked  upon  the 
heavens,  the  work  of  his  finger,  the  moon  and  the  stars  which 
he  has  ordained,  until  oppressed  with  awe  at  the  grandeur  of 
the  scene,  finds  the  handiwork  of  the  same  glorious  Being,  in  the 


sect,  in.]  The  Eternal  Plan.  89 

tracery  of  inimitable  beauty  which  the  microscope  reveals  on 
the  wing  of  the  fly,  or  in  the  countless  animalcules  which  people 
the  leaf  or  swarm  in  the  pool !  What  grandeur  is  imparted  to 
our  conceptions  of  the  infinite  One,  as  we  learn  that  He  who  is 
not  exalted  by  the  creation  of  worlds,  is  not  abased  by  painting 
the  wing  of  the  tiny  insect,  by  dyeing  and  arranging  the 
feathers  of  the  butterfly,  and  shaping  and  adapting  the  organs 
of  the  worm! 

If  we  pass  from  the  natural  to  the  moral  universe,  the  ques- 
tion occurs,  Where  shall  we  find  a  really  trivial  event?  A 
dewdrop  falls  on  the  surface  of  the  placid  stream,  and  subsides 
into  the  mass  of  waters;  its  fall  unregarded,  its  existence  un- 
known. Yet  has  it  changed  the  level  of  the  entire  stream,  and 
altered  the  relations  of  every  particle  in  its  channel.  A  cannon- 
ball  drops  from  the  deck  of  the  gallant  ship,  and  with  sullen 
plunge  seeks  a  bed  among  the  sands  beneath.  But,  as  it  sinks 
to  rest,  it  has  moved  the  vast  ocean  in  its  most  obscure  retreats. 
On  the  surface  where  it  fell,  a  little  circular  wave  is  formed, 
which  widens  and  expands,  till  it  dies  on  the  farthest  shore. 
Could  we  follow  its  pathway,  we  should  see  its  tide  mingle  with 
the  storm-surge  to  sweep  the  seaman  from  the  deck  of  the  foun- 
dering bark,  and  murmur  the  requiem  over  his  coral  tomb ; — 
we  should  see  it  combine  with  the  waves  that  lash  the  cliffs  of 
England,  and  swell  the  tide  that  pours  along  the  shores  of  Asia; 
and  the  influences,  originated  by  that  casual  wave,  will  be  pro- 
pagated to  the  end  of  time.  So  it  is  in  the  moral  universe. 
No  event  is  trivial,  as  it  constitutes  a  link  in  the  tremendous 
whole.  Each  little  wave  combines  with  the  rest; — its  living 
voice  will  be  heard  amid  the  throes  of  dissolving  nature;  and 
its  waters  will  swell  the  tide  which  shall  flow  on  the  boundless 
shores  of  eternity.  The  caprices  of  an  idiot,  or  the  sportive 
follies  of  a  child,  may  occupy  such  a  place  in  the  plan  of  God, 
as  to  control  the  destinies  of  nations,  and  enstamp  their  influence 
on  the  triumphant  songs  of  heaven. 

As  to  the  particular  features  of  the  eternal  plan,  we  have  two 
sources  of  information, — the  book  of  nature  and  providence, 
and  the  Scriptures.     In  the  former,  from  beholding  what  God 


90  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  ii. 

has  done,  we  learn  what,  from  the  beginning,  he  purposed  to 
do.  In  his  word,  many  of  the  mysteries  of  the  plan,  which 
nature  could  not  have  discovered,  are  unveiled;  and  the  won- 
drous wisdom  and  glorious  results  of  the  whole  are  set  forth. 
Here,  the  entire  scheme  concentrates  its  interest,  and  takes  its 
form,  from  an  eternal  covenant,  in  which  the  Persons  of  the 
Godhead  concurred  together,  in  an  ineffable  harmony  and  unity, 
for  the  revelation  of  their  glory,  in  the  redemption  of  man.  Of 
this  covenant  we  shall  see  more  hereafter.  From  it  the  whole 
system  of  the  universe  took  its  form.  To  its  fulfilment  the 
entire  order  of  providence  tends.  In  its  execution,  the  Son  of 
God  becomes  man ;  and  in  the  final  result,  the  children  of  cor- 
ruption and  dust  become  the  princes  of  heaven, — co-regents 
with  the  eternal  Son,  in  that  kingdom  which  shall  be  for  ever 
and  ever;  and  co-heirs  in  his  blessedness  and  in  the  riches  and 
love  of  God, — shedding  abroad,  in  all  God's  dominions,  a  know- 
ledge of  the  glorious  and  invisible  One,  such  as  will  forever  fill 
heaven  with  adoring  anthems  of  praise. 

The  first  step  in  the  fulfilment  of  this  plan,  was  the  creation  of 
the  angelic  hosts,  and  of  the  material  universe.  The  ministering 
z  5.  The  an-  intelligences  of  heaven  would  seem  to  have  been  first 
geh  and  the  called  into  being ;  exalted,  happy  and  adoring  wit- 
wnverse.  nesses  of  all  the  rest.    This  appears  to  be  implied  in 

the  language  of  God  to  Job: — "Where  wast  thou  when  I  laid 
the  foundations  of  the  earth  ?  Whereupon  are  the  foundations 
thereof  fastened  ?  or  who  laid  the  corner-stone  thereof,  when  the 
morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for 
joy?" — Job  xxxviii.  4,  6,  7.  Why  those  songs  of  harmony  ?  Why 
that  exulting  joy  to  which  those  bright  spirits  thus  gave  utter- 
ance ?  They  beheld  spread  before  them,  in  the  volume  of  crea- 
tion, a  revelation  of  the  immensity  and  glory  the  power  and 
Godhead  of  Him  in  whom  they  have  their  being.  As  they  behold 
the  unfolding  of  a  perfect  plan,  which  comprehends  in  harmonious 
relations  innumerable  parts,  they  recognise  the  evidence  of  the 
unity  and  wisdom  of  God.  His  goodness  shines  before  them  in 
the  happiness  of  the  creatures  to  which  every  thing  tends.  And 
when  they  observe  the  vastness  of  some  parts,  the  minuteness  of 


sect,  iv.]  The  Eternal  Plan.  91 

others,  and  the  completeness  of  the  whole,  they  are  overwhelmed 
with  the  immensity,  and  the  inexhaustible  power  and  resources, 
of  the  Creator.  How  august  the  spectacle! — how  magnificent 
the  revelation  thus  unfolded  to  their  wondering  gaze  !  Even  to 
our  faint  vision  and  feeble  powers,  what  a  scene  does  the  creation 
display !  what  a  story  does  it  tell,  of  the  matchless  perfections 
of  the  Creator !  Whilst  the  heavens  proclaim  his  glory,  and  the 
vast  systems  of  the  universe  declare  his  power  and  Godhead,  the 
least  and  lowliest  thing  which  his  hand  has  made  points  its  tiny 
finger  aloft,  and  concurs  with  the  rest  to  direct  our  thoughts  in 
adoration  to  God  its  Maker. 

"  There's  not  a  tint  that  paints  the  rose, 

Or  decks  the  lily  fair, 
Or  marks  the  humblest  flower  that  blows, 

But  God  has  placed  it  there. 
There's  not  of  grass  a  single  blade, 

Or  leaf  of  loveliest  green, 
Where  heavenly  skill  is  not  displayed, 

And  heavenly  wisdom  seen." — Heber. 

To  the  instructed  ear  the  universe  is  full  of  voices,  telling 
each  its  own  story,  of  the  power,  the  wisdom  and  the  goodness 
of  Him  by  whom  are  all  things.  To  the  intelligent  heart,  which 
is  attuned  to  such  harmonies,  nature  is  one  grand  instrument  of 
many  chords,  which  pours  continually  forth  sublimest  anthems 
burdened  with  his  praise.  From  the  shrill  soprano  of  the  insect's 
evening  hum,  and  the  soft  chorals  of  the  twittering  swallow  or 
the  soaring  lark,  to  the  deep  thunder's  reverberating  peal,  the 
sighing;  murmur  which  forever  breathes  from  the  heaving 
bosom  of  the  ocean,  and  the  mighty  bass  of  the  earthquake's 
labouring  moan, — every  sound  which  greets  the  ear  is  another 
note  in  the  harmonious  measures  of  adoring  song.  And  when, 
amid  the  descending  shadows  of  evening,  the  voices  of  nature 
are  hushed,  and  the  tranquil  stillness  invites  to  contemplation 
or  repose,  even  Silence  herself  takes  up  the  strain,  and  the 
starry  hosts  unite  in  the  general  chorus  of  unending  praise. 

What  a  pageant  of  grandeur  and  beauty  do  the  heavens  reveal, 
as  earth  sinks  to  rest  beneath  the  curtains  of  night !     "  Lift  up 


92  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  ii. 

your  eyes  on  nigh,  and  behold  who  hath  created  these  things, 
that  bringeth  out  their  host  by  number :  He  calleth  them  all 
by  names,  by  the  greatness  of  his  might,  for  that  he  is  strong  in 
power;  not  one  faileth." — Isa.  xl.  26.  Behold  them  coming 
forth  from  the  chambers  of  God,  and  in  silent  grandeur,  a  count- 
less host,  pursuing  their  mighty  march  across  the  firmament. 
So  far  from  us  is  the  nearest  sentinel  that  twinkles  there,  that 
the  ray  of  light  which  meets  our  vision,  although  speeding  a 
flight  of  twelve  millions  of  miles  a  minute,  has  worn  out  nearly 
ten  years  in  winning  its  way  to  earth ;  and  the  multitudes  of 
silvery  beams  which  are  barely  perceptible  to  the  naked  eye, 
have  travelled  an  hundred  and  twenty  years  to  pass  the  vast 
expanse  which  lies  between.  Yet,  scattered,  as  they  probably 
are,  as  far  from  each  other  as  from  us,  such  is  their  multitude, 
that  the  astronomer,  with  his  telescope  directed  immovably  to  a 
single  point,  has  seen  one  hundred  and  sixteen  thousand  stars 
pass  over  his  field  of  vision  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  What,  then, 
must  be  the  extent  of  the  vast  cluster  which  is  spread  before  us ; 
and  what  the  multitudes  of  stars  of  which  it  consists !  Each 
one  of  them  is  a  sister  sun  to  that  which  sheds  its  daily  radiance 
on  our  earth ;  and  as  that  is  surrounded  by  its  retinue  of  planets 
and  satellites  and  cometary  legions,  so  probably  are  they  all. 
As  you  contemplate  these  things,  struggling  to  form  some  con- 
ception of  the  vast  expanse,  across  whose  diameter  a  ray  of  light 
toils  on  for  two  thousand  years,  before  it  gains  the  other  bound, 
do  you  imagine  that  you  have  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  extent  of 
the  creation  and  dominions  of  God  ?  Listen  to  the  testimony  of 
Job  : — "  By  his  Spirit  he  hath  garnished  the  heavens ;  his  hand 
hath  formed  the  crooked  serpent  (the  milky  way  ?).  Lo  !  these 
are  parts  of  his  ways;  but  how  little  a  portion  is  heard  of  him!" 
— Job  xxvi.  13,  14.  By  the  help  of  the  telescope,  look  forth 
beyond  those  myriad  stars  which  constitute  this  our  universe, 
so  incomprehensibly  vast,  and  you  will  learn  that  these  all  are 
but  one  little  group, — an  islet  in  the  ocean  of  immensity,  which 
Jehovah  has  stretched  out.  Away  upon  that  vast  sea  are  strewed, 
here  and  there,  as  stars  are  scattered  in  our  heavens,  multitudes 
of  other  clusters,  such  as  this ;  each  one,  in  its  millions  of  suns, 


sect,  v.]  The  Eternal  Plan.  93 

a  separate  universe,  divided  from  each  other  and  from  the  hosts 
of  our  heavens,  by  an  immensity,  from  whose  breadth  recoiling 
imagination  reels  back  upon  its  own  nothingness.  The  astrono- 
mer, confident  in  the  result  of  the  severest  mathematical  deduc- 
tions, assures  us  that  the  ray  of  light  which  falls  upon  his  glass, 
has  been  a  million  of  ages  flashing  its  trackless  way,  since  it  left 
those  luminaries,  of  whose  existence  it  is  the  herald.  And  yet, 
even  here,  we  find  no  bound.  Still,  as  new  skill  gives  new  power 
to  the  telescope,  and  enables  our  vision  to  plunge  deeper  and 
deeper  into  that  widening  immensity,  we  discover,  in  the  farthest 
distance,  the  dim  signals  of  yet  other  clustered  myriads,  coming 
up  to  view.  Still, — as  the  instrument  sweeps  the  concave,  to 
the  north,  and  the  south,  the  east,  and  the  west,  above,  below, 
and  all  around, — still  must  we  exclaim,  with  Job,  "  Lo !  these 
are  parts  of  his  ways ;  but  how  little  a  portion  is  heard  of  him !" 
and  we  fall  back  upon  the  conclusion,  that  the  works  of  God  are 
an  illimitable  abyss, — an  ocean  without  bottom  or  bound.  As 
we  gaze  upon  this  wondrous  scene, — this  heaven,  each  constel- 
lation of  which  is  a  universe,  a  heaven  of  its  own, — we  behold  a 
new  and  transcendently  glorious  interpretation  of  the  apostrophe 
of  Solomon  : — "  Behold,  the  heaven,  and  heaven  of  heavens,  can- 
not contain. thee  !" — 2  Chron.  vi.  18. 

Stooping  from  such  contemplations  as  these,  we  see  at  our 
feet  the  handiwork  of  the  same  glorious  Being  who  made  them 
all,  in  the  tints  that  adorn  the  blushing  rose,  and  the  plumage 
of  the  insect  that  floats  in  the  sunbeam.  Nor  are  these  little 
things  less  worthy  of  his  creative  skill  and  watchful  care,  than 
those  orbs  and  systems  of  order  and  light.  For  all  are  alike 
unworthy  to  compare  with  his  majesty.  His  creative  energy  is 
not  wearied  by  the  vastness  of  those ;  nor  is  he  fatigued  by  the 
minuteness  of  detail  which,  with  them,  embraces  in  a  glance  all 
the  littleness  and  variety  of  these.  All  that  we  thus  contem- 
plate,— the  earth,  with  its  inhabitants,  the  little  and  the  great, — 
the  sun,  with  its  encircling  train, — the  radiant  throng  of  the 
milky  way, — the  teeming  clusters,  of  which  we  catch  a  glimpse 
in  the  far-off  boundless  expanse, — all,  all  are  the  unlaboured 
creations  of  the  One  Infinite.     "Without  an  exertion  they  exist ; 


94  The  Elohlm  Revealed.  [chap.  ii. 

born  of  the  tranquil  energy  of  his  will.  "  He  spake,  and  it 
was  done;  he  commanded,  and  it  stood  fast." — Ps.  xxxiii.  9. 
Yet,  whilst  thus  immensity  teems  with  the  creations  of  his 
power,  the  revelations  of  his  glory,  he,  the  Creator,  dwells 
alone ;  unexhausted,  uncommunicated,  unapproached  and  unap- 
proachable. Present  always  and  everywhere,  but  hidden  in  his 
very  infinitude,  he  remains  the  uncomprehended  God ;  and,  with 
Job,  the  loftiest  of  the  witnessing  seraphim  may  exclaim, 
"  Behold,  I  go  forward,  but  he  is  not  there ;  and  backward,  but 
I  cannot  perceive  him ;  on  the  left  hand,  where  he  doth  work, 
but  I  cannot  behold  him :  he  hideth  himself  on  the  right  hand, 
that  I  cannot  see  him." — Job  xxiii.  8,  9. 

"In  its  sublime  research,  philosophy 
May  measure  out  the  ocean  deep, — may  count 
The  sands,  or  the  sun's  rays  ;  but,  God  !  for  thee 
There  is  no  weight  nor  measure ;  none  can  mount 
Up  to  thy  mysteries.     Reason's  brightest  spark, 
Though  kindled  by  thy  light,  in  vain  would  try 
To  trace  thy  counsels  infinite  and  dark  ; 
And  thought  is  lost,  ere  thought  can  soar  so  high  ; 
Even  like  past  moments  in  eternity." — Derzhavin. 

Thus  glorious  is  the  knowledge  of  God,  which  shines  on  the 
very  face  of  the  material  system.  Yet  falls  it  utterly  short  of 
H.  The  moral  the  revelation,  for  which  the  eternal  plan  provided. 
revelation.  The  voices,  in  which  the  heavens  and  all  nature  tell 
the  glory  of  the  Creator,  speak  only  of  the  eternal  power  and 
Godhead  of  the  one  infinite  Spirit.  In  the  further  chapters  of 
the  plan,  provision  is  made  for  revealing  God,  the  triune,  the 
holy,  the  just  and  true,  the  God  of  compassion,  mercy  and 
love; — for  shedding  forth  the  higher  mysteries  of  the  moral 
nature  of  that  majestic  One  whom  heaven,  even  the  heaven  of 
heavens,  cannot  contain. 

Of  this  moral  revelation,  the  first  element  consists  of  the 
holy  law.  This,  transcribed  from  the  perfections  of  God's 
moral  nature,  constitutes  an  exhibition  of  them,  as  well  as  a 
rule  by  which  the  moral  intelligences  may  live  in  the  likeness 
of  God.     This  law  was  first  made  known  to  the  angelic  hosts, 


sect,  v.]  The  Eternal  Plan.  95 

by  inscription  on  their  hearts  at  their  creation ;  as  the  first 
chapter  in  the  knowledge  of  God,  and  the  rule  for  their  gui- 
dance. But  in  this  volume  it  will  be  discussed,  as  given  to 
man  and  illustrated  in  his  history.  It  constitutes  a  funda- 
mental and  perpetual  element  of  the  entire  revelation,  for  which 
the  plan  provided.  That  plan  is  carried  on  to  completion  in 
the  whole  providential  administration  of  God;  especially  as 
exercised  towards  Adam  and  his  race,  and  the  second  Adam  and 
his  seed. 

Here,  the  peculiar  character  of  the  stage  selected  for  this 
greatest  display  of  the  perfections  of  the  Most  High,  this  con- 
summate revelation  of  the  inmost  nature  of  God,  is  worthy  of 
distinct  notice.  Had  a  council  of  the  cherubim  been  called,  and 
the  question  proposed  to  them, — What  part  of  the  universe  will 
be  the  most  suitable  platform  on  which  to  display  the  highest 
glories  of  God? — they  doubtless  would  have  selected  some 
mighty  sun,  some  central  luminary,  around  which  a  vast  uni- 
verse revolves.  They  would  have  sought  among  the  high 
places  of  the  creation  for  a  suitable  stage  on  which  to  exhibit 
the  high  themes  of  moral  grandeur  and  grace,  on  which  the 
intelligent  universe  was  about  to  gaze,  in  wondering  admiration 
and  eternal  joy  and  praise.  But  such  was  not  the  wisdom  of 
God.  Indifferent  to  all  greatness  of  material  dimension,  he  se- 
lected, as  the  throne  of  his  moral  glory  and  the  inner  place  of 
his  eternal  worship,  the  earth, — one  of  the  smaller  planets  that 
attend  upon  the  sun ;  which  is  itself  a  satellite  sweeping  through 
the  fields  of  space  around  some  far-off  greater  centre  of  our 
material  system.  Thus  has  the  glorious  Creator  proclaimed,  in 
the  most  unambiguous  terms,  that,  although  he  condescends 
to  reveal  the  immensity  of  his  power  and  illimitable  resources 
to  the  narrow  conceptions  of  creatures,  by  material  dimensions 
in  his  works  which  must  amaze  and  overwhelm  the  capacities 
of  all  finite  intelligences,  yet  are  they  all  at  last  utter  nothings 
to  him.  Our  globe  is  as  great,  in  comparison  with  his  infini- 
tude, as  the  mightiest  sun  or  grandest  system  which  the  uni- 
verse contains ;  and  our  earth-born  race,  as  the  countless  throng 
of  mighty  seraphim.     All  are  but  nothing  before  him. 


96  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  ii. 

For  the  revelation  of  the  moral  perfections  of  God,  this  earth 
was  designated,  and  man  ordained.  And  because  of  this  their 
* »  r,    ,  ,      destined  office,  the  Wisdom  of  God,  from  everlast- 

$  7.  Earth  the  ...  . 

theatre  of  the  ing>  rejoiced  in  the  habitable  parts  of  the  earth, 
revelation.  ancj  delighted  in  the  sons  of  men.     Of  the  council 

of  the  Triune  God,  at  which  man's  creation  was  decreed,  we 
have  an  authentic  record: — "Let  us  make  man  in  our  image, 
after  our  likeness;  and  let  them  have  dominion."  Thus  was 
man  set  apart  to  be,  in  the  presence  of  the  hosts  of  earth  and 
heaven,  an  image  and  likeness  of  his  Triune  Creator.  There- 
fore was  he  clothed  in  knowledge,  righteousness  and  holiness; 
therefore  endowed  with  a  nature,  in  which  the  parental  and 
filial  relations  shadow  faintly  forth  the  ineffable  relations  of  the 
eternal  Father  and  his  coeternal  Son;  and  in  which  the  vital 
breath  that  flows  from  his  lungs  is  a  like  distant  image  of  the 
mysterious  relation  to  them  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  For  the  same 
reason  was  he  crowned  with  a  dominion,  the  first  sphere  of 
which  was  this  low  earth  and  the  animal  creation ;  and  the  final 
extent  of  which  will  be  the  whole  universe  of  God, — a  dominion 
first  possessed  by  Adam,  in  Eden,  and  by  his  sons  according  to 
the  flesh;  but  at  length,  and  forever,  enjoyed  by  the  second 
Adam  and  his  sons,  in  the  restored  paradise  of  God.  "Unto  the 
angels  hath  he  not  put  in  subjection  the  world  to  come  whereof 
we  speak.  But  one  in  a  certain  place  testified,  saying,  What  is 
man,  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him?  or  the  son  of  man,  that 
thou  visitest  him?  Thou  madest  him  a  little  lower  than  the 
angels;  thou  crownedst  him  with  glory  and  honour,  and  didst 
set  him  over  the  works  of  thy  hands :  thou  hast  put  all  things 
in  subjection  under  his  feet.  For  in  that  he  put  all  in  subjec- 
tion under  him,  he  left  nothing  that  is  not  put  under  him.  But 
now  we  see  not  yet  all  things  put  under  him ;  but  we  see  Jesus, 
who  was  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels  for  the  suffering  of 
death,  crowned  with  glory  and  honour." — Heb.  ii.  5-9.  The  fact 
that  the  dominion,  which  was  bestowed  on  man  in  his  creation, 
finds  its  consummation  in  the  exaltation  of  the  Son  of  man,  on 
whose  head  are  many  crowns,  and  to  whom  angels  and  princi- 
palities and  powers  are  subject,  is  conclusive  proof,  that  man 


sect,  vii.]  The  Eternal  Plan.  97 

in  his  creation  was  designed  to  be  the  image  of  God,  not  to  the 
creatures  of  earth  merely,  but  to  the  whole  universe  of  God; 
and  every  feature  of  his  nature,  and  every  aspect  of  his  position, 
is  to  be  contemplated  in  the  light  of  this  fact,  in  order  to  be 
rightly  understood.  Indeed,  what  Paul  says  of  the  great  mys- 
tery of  godliness,  "God  manifested  in  the  flesh,  seen  of  angels," 
although  it  has  immediate  respect  to  the  person  and  work  of  the 
man  Christ  Jesus  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  may  well  be  under- 
stood in  a  much  wider  sense.  That  mystery  began  to  unfold 
itself  as  a  revelation,  in  the  person  of  Adam,  who  was  made  in 
the  image  and  likeness  of  God.  It  shines  forth  with  an  un- 
speakable lustre,  in  the  second  Adam,  at  once  the  Son  of  man, 
and  the  Son  of  God,  the  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory  and 
express  image  of  his  person.  Still  further  does  the  revelation 
expand,  and  the  glory  increase,  in  the  generation  and  growth 
of  that  mystical  body,  which  consists  of  Christ,  the  Head,  and 
the  church,  "the  fulness  of  him  that  filleth  all  in  all,"  the 
body;  each  member  of  which  is  renewed  in  the  likeness  of 
Christ  in  the  image  of  the  Father,  and  pervaded  with  the  Spirit 
of  Christ  and  of  God.  Each  one  is  thus  constituted  a  star,  to 
shine  in  the  light  of  the  one  glorious  Sun;  thus  shedding  forth, 
and  disseminating  to  every  creature,  the  unutterable  wonders 
of  the  glory  and  grace  of  God;  and  "the  whole  body  fitly  joined 
together,  and  compacted  by  that  which  every  joint  supplieth, 
according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the  measure  of  every  part," 
(Eph.  iv.  16,)  is  the  blessed  and  beloved  bride,  the  Lamb's  wife, 
in  whose  beauties  Jehovah  delights,  and  whose  espousals  con- 
stitute the  climax  of  the  whole  display  of  wisdom  and  power, 
holiness  and  love, — the  completed  revelation  of  a  glorious  God. 
The  eternal  plan,  which  thus  concentrates  its  light  in  man, 
and  pours  it  abroad  through  the  medium  of  his  person  and  his- 
?s  The  reve  ^orJf  ^s  a^  once  progressive  in  its  course,  and  cumu- 
lation  is  pro-  lative  in  its  revelations.  Like  some  vast  cathedral 
gressive  and       whose  numerous  parts, — its  buttresses  and  columns, 

cumulative.  .,  •      ->  -in  .  ■  .  i 

its  windows  and  arches,  porticos,  towers  and  spires, 
— as  by  degrees  they  are  reared,  reveal  each  a  symmetry  and 
beauty  of  its  own ;  and  which,  as  they  grow  to  completion,  gra- 


98  The  EloMm  Revealed.  [chap.  ii. 

dually  discover  the  unity  of  all  in  one  design,  and  all  contribute 
to  its  majestic  beauty, — so  is  it  here.  In  the  administration  of 
the  plan,  whilst  each  new  development  transcends  all  which  have 
gone  before,  it  does  not  supersede,  but  comprehends  them.  The 
revealing  office  of  Adam  is  not  annulled,  as  a  failure  through 
the  fall,  by  the  entrance  of  Christ;  nor  does  the  covenant  of 
grace  abrogate  that  which  was  made  with  Adam  in  his  creation. 
But  the  creation,  the  law,  Adam  and  his  race,  and  God's  deal- 
ings with  him,  and  with  them  in  him,  and  Christ  and  his  people, 
and  God's  dealings  with  them,  individually  and  as  a  body, — 
these  are  the  elements  of  the  revelation;  each  one  fulfilling  its 
several  office,  and  all  combining  their  light  in  the  person  and 
work  of  the  Son  of  God.  Thus  is  he  the  Alpha  and  Omega, 
"Christ  all  and  in  all,"  to  whom  all  creation  points;  by  whom 
the  Father  is  made  known ;  and  in  whom,  thus,  the  design  of  the 
whole  work  of  creation  and  providence  is  consummate  and  dis- 
covered, for  the  adoration  of  the  universe  and  the  infinite  bless- 
edness of  man. 

"We  have  seen  the  grand  object  which  was  contemplated  in 
the  eternal  plan  to  have  been  the  revelation  of  God ;  and  that 
those  enumerated  were  the  instrumentalities  which  were  devised 
and  ordained  to  that  end.  In  fact,  beside  these,  God  has  given 
no  other.  It  follows,  that  no  true  science  of  theology  is  attain- 
able, except  in  the  study  of  the  book  thus  spread  open  before  us, 
in  the  order  in  which  it  is  given,  and  in  the  light  of  the  fact  that 
such  was  its  design.  He  who  fails  to  recognise  and  appreciate 
the  intention  of  the  whole  system  as  one  vast  revelation,  of  which 
each  several  being  and  event  utters  its  own  particular  testimony 
—a  testimony  to  which  it  was  specifically  ordained, — must,  of 
necessity,  fail  of  a  full  apprehension  of  the  things  revealed. 

Whilst  the  great  end  had  in  view  was  the  revelation  of  God, 
the  grand  instrumentality  employed  is  the  salvation  of  man. 
The  first  chapters  of  the  narrative  discover  Adam  self-destroyed, 
apostate  and  accursed,  helpless  and  hopeless,  awaiting  the  de- 
scending stroke  of  wrath.  But  light  from  heaven  shines  on  his 
ruin,  and  the  wisdom  and  love  of  God  undertake  his  rescue.  A 
scene  radiant  in  the  light  of  all  matchless  perfections,  shines 


sect,  vii.]  TIw  Eternal  Plan.  99 

before  us  as  we  read  the  pages  of  God's  redeeming  grace.  And 
when  the  mystery  of  God  is  finished,  and  the  revelation  com- 
plete, the  last  chapters  exhibit  the  children  of  Adam  become 
sons  of  God,  and  the  heirs  of  the  curse  become  possessors  of 
heaven  and  princes  there,  arrayed  in  the  glory  of  God's  perfect 
likeness,  and  blessed  forever  in  his  loving  smile.  If  all  the  sons 
of  God  shouted  for  joy  when  they  caught  the  first  glimpse  of  his 
glory  as  it  shone  in  the  creation,  with  what  shoutings  will  the 
topstone  be  brought  home !  How  will  heaven  resound  with  the 
anthem  of  praise  ! — "Blessing,  and  honour,  and  glory,  and  power, 
be  unto  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb, 
for  ever  and  ever." 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   PEOVIDENTIAL   ADMINISTRATION, 

The  plan  which  was  formed  in  the  councils  of  eternity,  ia 
accomplished,  in  time,  by  the  administration  of  the  providential 
. !  j);/rerent  government.  This  government  is  conducted  in  a 
theories  0/  se-  twofold  agency ;  partly  through  the  instrument- 
cond  causes.  ality  of  natural  laws  and  second  causes,  and  partly 
by  the  immediate  hand  of  God.  In  respect  to  second  causes, 
several  different  theories  have  obtained  more  or  less  currency. 
Some  deny  them  any  efficiency  whatever,  and  make  the  laws 
of  nature  to  be  nothing  but  the  uniform  modes  of  divine 
operation;  so  that  God  is  not  only  the  first  but  the  only 
cause.  The  opposite  extreme  is  held  by  others,  who  look 
upon  the  universe  as  a  machine,  from  the  natural  operation 
of  which  all  things  take  place,  without  the  interposition  of  the 
Creator,  who  continues  forever  an  inactive  spectator  of  the  fated 
process.  According  to  another  opinion,  the  powers  of  nature 
are  ordinarily  left  to  their  own  operation ;  but  on  special  occa- 
sions the  Creator  interposes,  as  in  miracles.  A  fourth,  and  the 
scriptural  doctrine,  is,  that  whilst  the  creatures  are  endowed 
with  a  real  efficiency  and  true  causation,  they  are  at  the  same 
time  under  the  constant  and  universal  control  of  God ; — that  he, 
"the  Creator  of  all  things,  doth  uphold,  direct,  dispose  and 
govern  all  creatures,  actions  and  things,  from  the  greatest  even 
to  the  least,  by  his  most  wise  and  holy  providence,  according  to 
his  infallible  foreknowledge,  and  the  free  and  immutable  counsel 
of  his  own  will,  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his  wisdom,  power, 
justice,  goodness  and  mercy."* 

Substances  and  their  phenomena  constitute  the  whole  sum  of 

*  Westminster  Confession,  chap.  v.  §  1. 
100 


sect,  i.j  The  Providential  Administration.  101 

things  that  are.  A  substance  is  an  existence  which  is  invested 
§  2.  True  doc-  witn  certam  properties  or  forces.  In  other  words, 
trine  of  second  it  is  an  efficient  cause,  of  which  the  phenomena 
causes.  which  attach  to  it  are  the  effects.     The  word,  sub- 

stance, designates  the  being  or  existence  of  which  those  forces 
are  predicated;  and,  cause,  the  forces  in  exercise, — the  substance 
in  action.  The  possession  of  forces  is  essential  to  the  very 
existence  of  a  substance ;  and  they  are  thus  essential,  not  as  sus- 
taining an  outside  relation  to  it;  but  they  reside  in  the  very 
substance  itself,  as  elements  without  which  its  existence  is  not 
conceivable.  The  forces  thus  residing  in  substances  are  derived 
originally  from  God,  sustained  each  instant  by  his  power,  and 
controlled  by  his  sovereign  will.  Yet  have  they  a  real  existence, 
which  is  distinct  from  the  omnipotence  of  God;  and  an  ac- 
tivity which  is  their  own,  and  not  the  agency  of  the  Creator. 
These  forces  give  to  each  several  substance  its  peculiar  cha- 
racter, and  constitute  each  a  machine,  so  to  speak, — a  motive 
power,  adapted  to  perform  given  functions,  to  occupy  a  specific 
place  and  hold  specific  relations  to  others.  This  remark  holds 
good  alike  in  regard  to  animate  and  inanimate  nature,  the 
minute  and  the  great.  An  atom  is  endowed  with  gravitation  as 
certainly  as  the  earth  or  the  sun.  It  is  also  characterized  by 
other  affinities  or  attractions,  with  kindred  repulsions ;  the 
effect  of  which  is,  that  it  refuses  to  combine  with  certain  sub- 
stances, and  in  certain  relations,  and,  on  the  contrary,  seeks 
combination  in  different  relations,  and  with  other  bodies.  The 
elements  constituting  a  mass  of  fuel,  which  at  an  ordinary 
temperature  adhere  with  the  tenacity  of  hickory  or  the  hardness 
of  anthracite,  when  subjected  to  the  influence  of  heat,  so  repel 
each  other  as  to  dissolve  the  entire  mass.  Thus  are  all  material 
substances  composed  of  particles,  held  together  by  mutual  at- 
tractions, resulting  in  every  variety  of  texture  and  every  degree 
of  solidity,  from  the  rarity  of  the  gases  to  the  density  of  gold. 
An  example  of  the  fact  of  which  we  speak  occurs  in  the 
assimilation  of  food.  An  ox  feeds  on  grass  or  corn.  The  mass 
of  food  is  thrown  into  the  stomach,  and  that  living  machine, 
with  its  auxiliary  organs,  rejecting  what  is  unsuitable,  separates 


102  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  hi. 

the  rest,  and  re-combines  it  in  the  necessary  forms,  conveying, 
as  may  be  necessary,  the  requisite  elements,  and  elaborating 
them  into  horns  to  arm  the  head,  or  hoofs  to  protect  the  feet. 
To  other  parts,  as  required,  are  borne  the  elements  of  bone,  and 
combined  in  the  ivory  texture  of  the  teeth,  or  the  porous  and 
yielding  structure  of  the  ribs.  Nutriment  is  thus  ministered 
to  every  part,  and  elaborated  into  flesh  and  sinew,  horn  and 
hair,  or  scales;  constituting  in  some  animals  a  covering  firm 
as  steel,  in  others,  soft  as  silk.  It  thus  appears  that  the  animal 
organization  exerts  a  force  to  lay  hold  of  the  food  when  deposited 
in  the  stomach,  and  apply  the  requisite  elements  to  the  nutrition 
of  the  body ;  and  that  the  elementary  atoms  have  natures  sus- 
ceptible to  the  influences  thus  exerted,  and  endowed  with 
attractions  to  hold  them  in  proper  combination  in  the  animal 
frame. 

Illustrations  to  the  same  effect  might  be  multiplied  without 
limit.  What  has  been  presented  is  sufficient  to  justify  the 
statement  already  made, — that  each  material  substance  is  a 
motive  power,  endowed  with  a  capacity  of  putting  forth  and 
propagating  influences  and  forces  upon  others;  and,  in  like 
manner,  susceptible  to  influences  propagated  from  them.  The 
only  knowledge  we  can  have  of  any  substance  is  in  the  form  of 
a  list  of  the  attributes  of  efficiency  possessed  by  it.  Let  the 
reader  test  this  suggestion  upon  any  substance, — a  book,  for 
example.  It  has  length,  breadth  and  thickness, — that  is,  it 
exerts  resistance  to  pressure  in  three  directions ;  it  throws  off 
the  coloured  rays  of  light  in  a  manner  which  makes  a  specific 
impression  on  the  organs  of  vision,  which  we  express  by  saying 
that  it  is  visible  and  of  a  given  colour;  it  tends  towards  the 
earth  by  a  mutual  attraction,  which  we  indicate  by  ascribing 
to  it  weight.  Thus,  we  would  know  absolutely  nothing  of  the 
existence  of  any  substance  but  for  the  forces  it  develops,  the 
influences  it  exerts,  the  effects  it  produces;  and,  of  the  sub- 
stances which  are  thus  discovered  to  us,  our  acquaintance  is 
strictly  limited  to  a  knowledge  of  those  attributes  of  efficiency 
which  constitute  them  causes, — that  is  to  say, — sources  of  pro- 
pagated effects. 


sect,  ii.]        The  Providential  Administration.  103 

The  theory  of  Edwards,  on  the  subject  of  second  causes,  con- 
stitutes a  most  important  and  controlling  feature  in  his  system 
§  3.  Edwards'  of  doctrine.  He  denies  the  creatures  to  be  endowed 
theory  of  se-  with  any  properly  causative  forces;  and  attributes 
all  effects  to  God,  as  the  immediate  and  only  cause. 
This  theory  is  fully  stated  in  his  treatise  on  Original  Sin.  An 
English  writer,  in  the  controversy  with  Taylor  of  Norwich,  had 
spoken  of  human  depravity  as  a  natural  consequence  and  effect 
of  Adam's  first  sin.  Upon  this,  Taylor  says,  "Here  E.  K.  sup- 
poses the  course  of  nature  to  be  a  proper  active  cause,  which  will 
work  and  go  on  by  itself  without  God,  if  he  lets  or  permits  it ; 
whereas  the  course  of  nature,  separate  from  the  agency  of  God, 
is  no  cause,  or  nothing.  If  he  shall  say,  '  But  God  first  sets  it 
to  work,  and  then  it  goes  on  by  itself,'  I  answer, — that  the  course 
of  nature  should  continue  itself,  or  go  on  to  operate  by  itself, 
any  more  than  at  first  produce  itself,  is  absolutely  impossible. 
But  suppose  it  goes  on  by  itself,  can  it  stop  itself?  Can  it  work 
any  otherwise  than  it  doth?  Can  the  course  of  nature  cease  to 
generate?  Or  can  it  produce  a  holy  instead  of  a  sinful  nature, 
if  it  pleases?  No  advocate  of  original  sin  will  affirm  this. 
Therefore,  if  it  is  a  cause,  it  is  a  passive  cause,  which  cannot 
stop,  or  avoid  producing  its  effects.  And  if  God  sets  it  to  work, 
and  it  cannot  cease  working,  nor  avoid  producing  its  effects  till 
God  stops  it,  then  all  its  effects  in  a  moral  account  however 
must  be  assigned  to  him  who  first  set  it  to  work.  And  so  our 
sinfulness  will  be  chargeable  upon  God."* 

The  position  thus  asserted  by  Taylor, — that  God  is  the  only 
cause, — Edwards  adopts  and  vindicates  with  great  zeal.  Re- 
specting the  propagation  of  depravity,  he  says,  "  'Tis  true  that 
God  by  his  own  almighty  power  creates  the  soul  of  the  infant ; 
and  'tis  also  true,  as  Dr.  Taylor  often  insists,  that  God,  by  his 
immediate  power,  forms  and  fashions  the  body  of  the  infant  in 
the  womb ;  yet  he  does  both  according  to  that  course  of  nature 
which  he  has  been  pleased  to  establish.  The  course  of  nature  is 
demonstrated,  by  late  improvements  in  philosophy,  to  be  indeed 
what  our  author  himself  says  it  is,  viz.,  nothing  but  the  esta- 

*  Taylor  on  Original  Sin,  suppl.  sec.  vii. 


104  The  Mohim  Revealed.  [chap.  hi. 

blished  order  and  operation  of  the  Author  of  nature.*  And 
though  there  be  the  immediate  agency  of  God  in  bringing  the 
soul  into  existence  in  generation,  yet  it  is  done  according  to  the 
method  and  order  established  by  the  Author  of  nature,  as  much 
as  his  producing  the  bud  or  the  acorn  of  the  oak.  .  .  .  Tis 
as  much  agreeable  to  an  established  course  and  order  of  nature, 
that  since  Adam,  the  head  of  the  race  of  mankind,  the  root  of  that 
great  tree  with  many  branches  springing  from  it,  was  deprived 
of  original  righteousness,  the  branches  should  come  forth  with- 
out it.  Or,  if  any  dislike  the  word  nature,  as  used  in  this  last 
case,  and  instead  of  it  choose  to  call  it  a  constitution  or  esta~ 
blished  order  of  successive  events,  the  alteration  of  the  name 
won't  in  the  least  alter  the  state  of  the  present  argument. 
Where  the  name  nature  is  allowed  without  dispute,  no  more  is 
meant  than  that  established  method  and  order  of  events,  settled 
and  limited  by  divine  wisdom."  Again  he  says,  "If  here  it 
should  be  said  that  God  is  not  the  author  of  sin  in  giving  men 
up  to  sin,  who  have  already  made  themselves  sinful;  because, 
when  men  have  once  made  themselves  sinful,  their  continuing 
so,  and  sin's  prevailing  in  them,  and  becoming  more  and  more 
habitual,  will  follow  in  a  course  of  nature :  I  answer,  let  that  be 
remembered,  which  this  writer  so  greatly  urges,  in  opposition  to 
them  that  suppose  original  corruption  comes  in  a  course  of  na- 
ture, viz.,  'that  the  course  of  nature  is  nothing  without  God.' 
He  utterly  rejects  the  notion  of  the  course  of  nature's  being  a 
proper  active  cause,  which  will  work  and  go  on  by  itself,  without 
God,  if  he  lets  or  permits  it;  but  affirms  that  the  course  of  nature 
separate  from  the  agency  of  God  is  no  cause,  or  nothing;  and  that 
the  course  of  nature  should  continue  itself,  or  go  on  to  operate  by 


*  "  Late  improvements  in  philosophy."  Says  a  historian  of  modern  philo- 
sophy, "The  tendency  of  Cartesianism  from  the  very  first  was  to  place  in 
undue  prominence  the  idea  of  the  infinite  or  absolute,  and  to  cast  proportionally 
into  the  shade  those  of  finite  nature  and  finite  self.  Malebranche  went  so  far 
as  to  deny  secondary  causes  altogether,  thus  confining  all  real  activity  to  the 
Supreme  Being ;  while  Spinoza  completely  absorbed  all  finite  existence  in  the 
infinite,  and  made  every  thing  that  is,  but  a  part  and  a  modification  of  the  one 
unchangeable  substance." — MorelVs  History  of  Modern  Philosophy,  p.  147. 


sect,  in.]       The  Providential  Administration.  105 

itself,  any  more  than  at  first  produce  itself,  is  absolutely  impos- 
sible."* Taylor's  design,  in  these  places  which  Edwards  quotes, 
was  to  deny  such  a  causative  relation  between  parent  and  child 
as  could  convey  corruption  to  the  latter.  The  premises  thus 
stated  by  Taylor,  Edwards  accepts ;  and  only  avoids  his  conclu- 
sions, by  taking  the  position,  that  God  can,  by  a  "constitution," 
make  things  to  be  true  which  in  themselves  are  not  true. 

The  same  view,  in  regard  to  creature  causation,  is  essentially 
involved  in  Edwards'  doctrine  of  identity.  On  this  subject,  he 
I  4.  Edwards'  undertakes  to  show  that  no  real  oneness  is  possible 
doctrine  of  in  things  which  exist  in  different  time  and  place. 
identity.  rp^e  moon^  for  example,  which  now  is,  has  no  iden- 

tity with  that  which  existed  one  moment  since,  or  with  that 
which  shall  be  the  next  instant.  Each  is  a  new  and  distinct 
creation,  and  identical  in  no  sense,  except  that  God  has  in  sove- 
reignty determined  them  to  be  accounted  one.  The  cause  of  the 
continued  existence  of  every  created  substance  must  be  one  of 
these  :  "  either  the  antecedent  existence  of  the  same  substance, 
or  else  the  power  of  the  Creator.  But  it  can't  be  the  ante- 
cedent existence  of  the  same  substance.  For  instance,  the 
existence  of  the  body  of  the  moon  at  this  present  moment  can't 
be  the  effect  of  its  existence  at  the  last  foregoing  moment.  For, 
not  only  was  what  existed  the  last  moment  no  active  cause,  but 
wholly  a  passive  thing;  but  this  also  is  to  be  considered, — 
that  no  cause  can  produce  effects  in  a  time  and  place  in  which 
itself  is  not.  'Tis  plain,  nothing  can  exert  itself  or  operate 
when  and  where  it  is  not  existing.  But  the  moon's  past 
existence  was  neither  where  nor  when  its  present  existence  is. 
.  .  .  Therefore  the  existence  of  created  substances  in  each 
successive  moment  must  be  the  effect  of  the  immediate  agency, 
will  and  power  of  God."  He  then  supposes  the  objection  that 
the  established  course  of  nature  can  continue  existence  when 
once  given,  and  replies  that  the  course  of  nature  is  nothing 
separate  from  God,  and  that,  "  as  Dr.  Taylor  says,  '  God,  the 
original  of  all  being,  is  the  only  cause  of  all  natural  effects.'  A 
father,  according  to  the  course  of  nature,  begets  a  child ;  an  oak, 

*  Edwards  on  Original  Sin,  iv.  2. 


106  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  in. 

according  to  the  course  of  nature,  produces  an  acorn  or  a  bud : 
so,  according  to  the  course  of  nature,  the  former  existence  of 
the  trunk  of  the  tree  is  followed  by  its  new  or  present  existence. 
In  the  one  case  and  the  other,  the  new  effect  is  consequent  on 
the  former  only  by  the  established  laws  and  settled  course  of 
nature,  which  is  allowed  to  be  nothing  but  the  continued,  imme- 
diate efficiency  of  God,  according  to  a  constitution  that  he  has 
been  pleased  to  establish.  Therefore,  as  our  author  (Taylor) 
greatly  urges,  that  the  child  and  the  acorn,  which  come  into 
existence,  according  to  the  course  of  nature,  in  consequence  of 
the  prior  existence  and  state  of  the  parent  and  the  oak,  are 
truly  immediately  created  or  made  by  God;  so  must  the 
existence  of  each  created  person  and  thing,  at  each  moment  of 
it,  be  from  the  immediate  continued  creation  of  God.  It  will 
certainly  follow  from  these  things  that  God's  preserving  created 
things  in  being  is  perfectly  equivalent  to  a  continued  creation, 
or  to  his  creating  those  things  out  of  nothing  at  each  moment 
of  their  existence."  He  therefore  insists  "  that  God's  upholding 
created  substance,  or  causing  its  existence  in  each  successive 
moment,  is  altogether  equivalent  to  an  immediate  production 

out  of  nothing  at  each  moment God  produces  the  effect 

as  much  from  nothing  as  if  there  had  been  nothing  before.  So 
that  this  effect  differs  not  at  all  from  the  first  creation,  but  only 
circumstantially;  as  in  first  creation  there  had  been  no  such  act 
and  effect  of  God's  power  before ;  whereas  his  giving  existence 
afterwards,  follows  preceding  acts  and  effects  of  the  same  kind 
in  an  established  order.  Now,  in  the  next  place,  let  us  see  how 
the  consequence  of  these  things  is  to  my  present  purpose.  If 
the  existence  of  created  substance  in  each  successive  moment  be 
wholly  the  effect  of  God's  immediate  power  in  that  moment, 
without  any  dependence  on  prior  existence,  as  much  as  the  first 
creation  out  of  nothing,  then,  what  exists  at  this  moment  by 
this  power,  is  a  new  effect;  and,  simply  and  absolutely  con- 
sidered, not  the  same  with  any  past  existence,  though  it  be  like 
it,  and  follows  it  according  to  a  certain  established  method. 
And  there  is  no  identity  or  oneness  in  the  case,  but  what 
depends  on  the  arbitrary  constitution  of  the  Creator,  who,  by  his 


sect,  iv.]        The  Providential  Administration.  107 

wise  sovereign  establishment,  so  unites  these  successive  new 
effects,  that  he  treats  them  as  one,  by  communicating  to  them 
like  properties,  relations  and  circumstances,  and  so  leads  us  to 
regard  and  treat  them  as  one.  When  I  call  this  an  arbitrary 
constitution,  I  mean,  that  it  is  a  constitution  which  depends  on 
nothing  but  the  divine  will;  which  divine  will  depends  on 
nothing  but  the  divine  wisdom.  In  this  sense,  the  whole  course 
of  nature,  with  all  that  belongs  to  it,  all  its  laws,  and  methods, 
and  constancy,  and  regularity,  continuance  and  proceeding,  is 
an  arbitrary  constitution.  For  it  don't  at  all  necessarily  follow, 
that  because  there  was  sound,  or  light,  or  colour,  or  resistance, 
or  gravity,  or  thought,  or  consciousness,  or  any  other  dependent 
thing,  the  last  moment,  that  therefore  there  shall  be  the  like  at 
the  next.  All  dependent  existence  whatsoever  is  in  a  constant 
flux ;  ever  passing  and  returning ;  renewed  every  moment,  as 
the  colours  of  bodies  are  every  moment  renewed  by  the  light 
that  shines  upon  them ;  and  all  is  constantly  proceeding  from 
God,  as  light  from  the  sun.  '  In  him  we  live,  and  move,  and 
have  our  being.'  Thus  it  appears,  if  we  consider  matters 
strictly,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  any  identity  or  oneness  in 
created  objects,  existing  at  different  times,  but  what  depends  on 
God's  sovereign  constitution.  And  so  it  appears,  that  objection 
we  are  upon,  made  against  a  supposed  divine  constitution, 
whereby  Adam  and  his  posterity  are  viewed  and  treated  as  one, 
in  the  manner  and  for  the  purposes  supposed,  as  if  it  were  not 
consistent  with  truth,  because  no  constitution  can  make  those  to 
be  one  which  are  not  one, — I  say,  it  appears  that  this  objection 
is  built  on  a  false  hypothesis ;  for  it  appears  that  a  divine  con- 
stitution is  the  thing  which  makes  truth,  in  affairs  of  this 
nature."*  To  render  his  meaning  still  more  clear  and  explicit,  he 
illustrates  it  in  a  marginal  note.  The  rays  of  the  sun  falling 
on  the  moon,  and  reflected  from  it,  are  none  of  them  the  same 
for  two  consecutive  moments.  "  Therefore  the  brightness  or 
lucid  whiteness  of  this  body  is  no  more,  numerically,  the  same 
thing  with  that  which  existed  in  the  preceding  moment,  than 
the  sound  of  the  wind  that  blows  now  is  individually  the  same 

*  Ibid,  part  iv.  ch.  3. 


108  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  hi. 

with  the  sound  of  the  wind  that  blew  just  before.  .  .  .  And 
if  it  be  thus  with  the  brightness  or  colour  of  the  moon,  so  it 
must  be  with  its  solidity,  and  every  thing  else  belonging  to  its 
substance,  if  all  be,  each  moment,  as  much  the  immediate  effect 
of  a  new  exertion  or  application  of  power.  The  matter  may 
perhaps  be,  in  some  respects,  still  more  clearly  illustrated  by 
this : — the  images  of  things  in  a  glass.  .  .  .  The  image,  con- 
stantly renewed  by  new,  successive  rays,  is  no  more,  numeri- 
cally, the  same,  than  if  it  were  by  some  artist  put  on  anew  with 
a  pencil,  and  the  colours  constantly  vanishing  as  fast  as  put 
on.  .  .  .  And,  truly,  so  the  matter  must  be  with  the  bodies 
themselves,  as  well  as  their  images.  They  also  cannot  be  the 
same,  with  an  absolute  identity,  but  must  be  wholly  renewed 
every  moment,  if  the  case  be,  as  has  been  proved,  that  their 
present  existence  is  not,  strictly  speaking,  at  all  the  effect  of 
their  past  existence,  but  is  wholly,  every  instant,  the  effect  of  a 
new  agency  or  exertion  of  the  power  of  the  cause  of  their  exist- 
ence. If  so,  the  existence  caused  is  every  instant  a  new  effect, 
whether  the  cause  be  light,  or  immediate  divine  power,  or  what- 
ever it  be." 

Now,  if  all  this  be  true, — if  the  creature  that  now  is,  instantly 
vanishes,  to  give  place  to  another  equally  evanescent, — it  is  evi- 
dent that  there  is  no  room  for  the  exertion  of  any  force  by  the 
substance  thus  so  transient.  It  and  all  cotemporaneous  sub- 
stances are  annihilated  at  the  same  instant,  and  give  place  to 
others,  which,  as  they  are  immediate  productions  of  creative 
power,  must  receive  all  their  primary  impressions,  and  realize 
their  first  impulses,  from  the  creative  energy.  And  these  alone 
they  ever  feel ;  for  with  the  first  instant  of  existence — they  are 
gone,  and  others  fill  their  place.  The  position  is  formally  stated, 
as  unquestionable  and  fundamental,  "that  no  cause  can  produce 
effects  in  a  time  and  place  in  which  itself  is  not."  "  Nothing 
can  exert  itself  or  operate  when  and  where  it  is  not  existing ;" 
an  axiom  which,  in  whatever  sense  true,  is  certainly  false  in 
that  intended;  since  it  is  here  expressly  designed  to  separate  all 
present  created  existences  and  their  phenomena  from  any  effi- 
cient relation  whatever,  either  to  their  antecedents  or  succes- 


sect,  iv.]        The  Providential  Administration.  109 

sors.  In  fact,  the  axiom,  as  here  employed,  is  contradictory  to 
any  conceivable  exercise  of  power  by  a  creature.  The  very  idea 
of  power  in  exercise  is  that  of  an  energy  put  forth  of  the  sub- 
stance from  which  it  springs,  and  perpetuated  after  the  cessa- 
tion of  the  impulse  in  which  it  originated. 

The  conclusion  to  which  the  whole  argument  of  Edwards  is 
directed,  renders  his  meaning  yet  more  unquestionable.  He  is 
combating  the  objection,  that  the  imputation  of  Adam's  sin  goes 
upon  the  false  supposition  that  he  and  we  are  one.  He  replies, 
that  "  the  objection  supposes  there  is  a  oneness  in  created  beings, 
whence  qualities  and  relations  are  derived  down  from  past  exist- 
ence, distinct  from,  and  prior  to,  any  oneness  that  can  be  sup- 
posed to  be  founded  on  divine  constitution ;  which  is  demonstrably 
false;  and  therefore  the  objection  wholly  falls  to  the  ground." 
That  is,  since  a  given  existence, — a  man  or  a  tree, — "  simply  and 
absolutely  considered,  is  not  the  same  with  any  past  existence, 
though  it  be  like  it,  and  follows  it  according  to  a  certain  esta- 
blished method,"  and  its  identity  through  successive  moments  of 
time  is  constituted  by  the  mere  sovereign  establishment  of  God, 
— it  follows,  that  the  same  authority  can  decree  us  to  be  one 
with  Adam ;  and  such  decree  shall  constitute  this  the  truth,  and 
make  us  really  one  with  him. 

Here  it  is  necessary  to  notice  distinctly  the  peculiar  sense  in 
which  the  word,  constitution,  is  employed  by  Edwards  and  his 
disciples.  By  it  he  does  not  mean,  as  might  be  supposed,  a 
system  of  fundamental  principles,  adopted  by  the  Creator  at  the 
beginning,  in  accordance  with  which  to  make  and  endow  the 
creatures ;  but  an  act  of  executive  sovereignty,  in  the  order  of 
nature  subsequent  to  creation,  and  in  which  he  is  supposed,  by 
decree,  to  constitute  or  determine  the  creatures  to  be  something 
else  than  essentially  and  creatively  they  were.  Thus,  the  colour 
of  the  moon,  its  solidity,  and  every  thing  else  belonging  to  its 
substance  is  at  each  moment  a  new  and  immediate  effect  of 
creative  power,  and  "  differs  not  at  all  from  the  first  creation, 
but  only  circumstantially ;  as  in  first  creation  there  had  been  no 
such  act  and  effect  of  God's  power  before;  whereas,  his  «giving 
existence  afterwards  follows  preceding  acts  and  effects  of  the 


110  T7ie  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  hi. 

same  kind  in  an  established  order."  By  a  sovereign  act  of 
God,  these  things,  thus  created  different  and  distinct,  are  decreed 
to  be  one.  This  decree  is  what  Edwards  calls,  a  constitution; 
and  is,  he  says,  "  the  thing  which  makes  truth  in  affairs  of  this 
sort." 

No  doubt,  many  expressions  may  be  found  in  the  writings  of 
Edwards,  which  are  entirely  inconsistent  with  the  theory  here 
exhibited, — a  theory  irreconcilable  with  doctrines  which  he  held 
with  an  unwavering  faith.  Inconsistency  is  the  characteristic 
of  error.  And  we  are  persuaded  that  a  careful  examination  of 
his  works  must  convince  any  candid  mind,  that  the  opinions  set 
forth  in  the  above  quotations  were  characteristic  of  his  entire 
philosophy,  and  very  influential  in  modifying  his  theological 
system. 

The  scheme  has  an  air  of  piety,  by  which  Edwards  was  be- 
trayed. It  seems  to  honour  God,  by  making  things  dependent 
2>  5.  This  doe-  on  nmi  m  the  most  absolute  and  intimate  manner. 
trine  unscrip-  It,  in  reality,  dishonours  him,  denying  his  power, 
turai.  j^g  truth  and  his  holiness.     It  limits  his  power,  by 

assuming  that  he  cannot  create  a  substance  endowed  with  true 
perpetuated  forces.  So  that  the  doctrine  is  irreconcilable  with 
the  real  existence  of  creation  at  all.  "  In  the  beginning  God 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth."  What  is  meant  by  this 
statement?  It  attests  the  creation,  "in  the  beginning,"  of  the 
heavens  and  earth  which  now  are.  It  asserts  the  production  of 
substances,  of  given  form,  and  other  specific  attributes.  These 
attributes  are  forces,  which  we  intuitively  attribute  to  the  sub- 
stances. Such  is  the  constitution  of  our  minds,  such  the  im- 
press stamped  upon  them  by  the  Creator,  that  we  universally, 
necessarily  and  immediately  refer  the  effects  which  attach  to  a 
substance,  to  powers  which  we  attribute  to  it,  as  of  its  essence, 
constituting  it  the  efficient  cause  of  those  effects.  But,  when  we 
attempt  to  describe  the  heavens  and  earth,  and  in  so  doing 
enumerate  these  powers  or  properties,  we  are  told  in  respect  to 
each,  "  It  is  nothing  but  a  continued  immediate  efficiency  of  God, 
according  to  a  constitution  that  he  has  been  pleased  to  establish." 
By  the  time  the  description  and  the  application  of  this  principle 


sect,  iv.]         The  Providential  Administration.  Ill 

is  completed,  the  creation  has  vanished ; — there  remains  nothing 
but  the  power  of  God,  putting  into  operation — "  I  speak  as  a 
man" — a  series  of  phantasmagoria,  for  the  deception  of  the 
observer !  Nay,  the  principle  follows  us  still  further.  If  its 
evidence  is  adequate  to  set  aside  all  our  intuitive  apprehensions, 
so  as  even  to  overthrow  the  testimony  of  consciousness  to  our 
real  existence  and  identity,  through  the  successive  moments  of 
life,  there  is  no  reason  that  can  be  assigned,  why  we  should  rely 
on  the  witness  of  that  same  consciousness,  to  the  reality  of  our 
present  existence.  If  all  effects  be  referred  to  God,  as  sole  and 
immediate  cause,  so  must  the  self-consciousness  which  we  realize; 
and,  before  we  are  aware,  the  conscious  soul  is  robbed  of  exist- 
ence, the  universe  is  blotted  out,  and  nothing  remains,  after  the 
juggle  has  wrought,  but  God  and  the  phenomena  of  his  exist- 
ence. His  word  testifies  that  he  has  formed  a  creation.  It 
declares  that  he  has  given  to  his  creatures  powers  to  be  exer- 
cised by  them, — to  his  intelligent  creatures,  powers,  for  the  right 
use  of  which  they  must  account  to  him.  We  are  assured,  that, 
having  finished  the  creation,  God  rests  from  all  his  works.  The 
indelible  conviction  of  the  potentiality  of  our  own  nature,  and 
that  of  all  the  creatures,  is  enstamped  by  the  hand  of  God  on 
the  soul  of  man.  Upon  the  right  or  wrong  use  of  our  powers, 
by  us  and  all  moral  agents,  are  suspended  the  destinies  of 
eternity.  The  alternative  is  the  rejection  of  all  this  evidence,  or 
of  the  theory  in  question. 

In  fact,  here  is  that  form  of  pantheism  which  makes  God  the 
only  real  existence;  of  which,  the  universe  of  mind  and  matter 
is  the  phenomenon.  We  know  nothing  of  substances,  except 
their  properties  or  powers.  No  other  knowledge  is  conceivable ; 
and  if  these  have  God  as  their  immediate  cause,  there  is  nothing 
left,  of  which  to  predicate  existence  or  to  conceive  it  possible. 

This  doctrine,  again,  is  utterly  irreconcilable  with  the  holiness 
of  God.  If  it  be  so  that  God  is  "the  only  cause  of  natural 
effects,"  there  can  be  no  author  of  sin  but  he.  He  has  declared 
that  it  is  that  abominable  thing  which  he  hates.  He  has  as- 
sured us  that  he  is  angry  with  the  wicked  every  day;  and  that, 
although  he  has  no  pleasure  in  their  death,  but  that  they  turn 


112  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  hi. 

to  him  and  live, — although  he  afflicts  not  willingly, — yet  will 
he  visit  the  workers  of  iniquity  with  a  fearful  destruction : — 
"snares,  fire  and  brimstone,  and  an  horrible  tempest, — this  shall 
be  the  portion  of  their  cup."  He  has  shown  his  abhorrence  of 
sin,  by  the  fearful  tide  of  indignation  which  was  poured  on  the 
head  of  his  own  beloved  Son,  when  our  sins  were  laid  upon  him. 
Yet  the  doctrine  in  question  involves,  immediately  and  unavoid- 
ably, the  conclusion,  that  so  far  from  sin  being  hateful  to  God, 
he  is  the  efficient  and  only  cause  of  every  sin  of  all  creatures. 
Edwards  avoids  this  conclusion,  by  recourse  to  the  distinction 
between  a  privative  and  a  positive  cause.  Of  this  we  shall  take 
notice  in  another  place. 

Edwards'  doctrine  of  identity  stands  or  falls  with  his  theory 
of  causation.  He  supposes  us  shut  up  to  the  alternative,  that 
the  cause  of  the  continued  existence  of  a  substance  is,  either  the 
antecedent  existence  of  the  same  substance,  or  else,  the  imme- 
diate agency,  will  and  power  of  God.  But  the  very  idea  of  an 
effect  is,  something  distinct  from  the  cause  and  abiding  after 
it.  It  is  something  effected,  something  done,  and  therefore  re- 
maining ; — and  the  idea  of  creative  causation,  is  that  of  the  pro- 
duction of  substance, — of  something  that  exists,  and  has  forces ; 
and  not  of  mere  transient  shadows.  Such  is  the  scriptural  idea 
of  creation: — "He  spake,  and  it  was  done;  he  commanded,  and 
it  stood  fast." — Psalm  xxxiii.  9.  The  reason,  therefore,  of  the 
present  existence  of  any  creature,  is  not  its  antecedent  existence; 
nor  is  it  the  immediate  creative  agency  of  God.  But  it  now  is, 
because  God  at  the  first  made  it, — gave  it  substance,  and  so  de- 
termined its  continuance;  and,  having  thus  created  it,  now  sus- 
tains it,  with  that  providential  care  in  which  he  "upholdeth  all 
things  by  the  word  of  his  power," — thus  continuing  to  the 
creatures  the  same  being  and  identity  which  he  bestowed  at  the 
first.  Nor  does  identity  consist  in  an  arbitrary  relation,  deter- 
mined by  a  decretive  act  of  God's  sovereignty,  at  variance  with 
the  creative  system,  and  contrary  to  the  essential  reality.  But 
it  depends  upon  the  continuous  evolution  of  unchanging  forces; 
implanted  once  by  creative  power,  in  conformity  with  sovereign 
wisdom. 


sect,  v.]  The  Providential  Administration.  113 

It  would  seem,  that  the  Scriptures  so  unequivocally  attribute 
efficient  causation  to  the  creatures,  that  no  one  who  has  a  reve- 
rence for  the  sacred  volume  could  for  a  moment  doubt  it.  Thus, 
in  the  narrative  of  the  creation,  what  can  be  more  explicit  than 
the  language  employed?  Gen.  i.  11,  12. — "And  God  said,  Let 
the  earth  bring  forth  grass,  the  herb  yielding  seed,  and  the  fruit- 
tree  yielding  fruit  after  his  kind,  whose  seed  is  in  itself,  upon 
the  earth :  and  it  was  so.  And  the  earth  brought  forth  grass, 
and  herb  yielding  seed  after  its  kind,  and  the  tree  yielding  fruit, 
whose  seed  is  in  itself,  after  his  kind :  and  God  saw  that  it  was 
good."  In  what  plainer  terms  could  it  be  stated,  that  God  be- 
stowed upon  the  earth  a  power  of  fertility,  which  was  an  efficient 
cause  of  the  vegetation  that  followed  ?  And  so,  of  the  power  of 
fructification,  attributed  to  the  grass,  herbs  and  trees,  after  their 
kind.  If  it  should  be  said,  that  the  language  is  merely  express- 
ive of  the  appearance  of  things,  let  it  be  considered,  that  such 
expressions  would  convey  no  meaning  whatever  to  us,  but  for 
that  ineffaceable  intuition  of  cause  and  effect  which  God  has  im- 
planted in  our  minds ; — that  we  are,  in  this  place,  addressed  as 
being  endowed  with  that  intuition; — and  that  the  language 
makes  direct  appeal  to  this  principle,  and,  under  its  guidance, 
can  be  understood  in  but  one  way.  We  need  not  dwell  on  the 
other  statements  of  this  chapter;  each  one  of  which  is  subject 
to  similar  remark.  A  single  example  will  be  sufficient: — "And 
God  said,  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after  our  likeness; 
and  let  them  have  dominion  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over 
the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  the  cattle,  and  over  all  the  earth, 
and  over  every  creeping  thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth. 
So  God  created  man  in  his  own  image :  in  the  image  of  God 
created  he  him;  male  and  female  created  he  them.  And  God 
blessed  them,  and  God  said  unto  them,  Be  fruitful,  and  multiply, 
and  replenish  the  earth,  and  subdue  it;  and  have  dominion." 
Is  this  lans;uas;e  reconcileable  with  the  idea  that  man  is  a  mere 
puppet,  assuming  postures,  and  going  mechanically  through  a 
set  of  fated  actions,  at  the  mere  nod  of  his  Creator,  operating  on 
him  from  behind  the  screen?  Was  there  no  real  power  conveyed, 
when  he  was  told  to  subdue  the  earth,  and  have  dominion  ?     Is 


114  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  hi. 

not  a  generative  causation  attributed  to  him,  when  the  creative 
Word  says,  "Be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth"? 
By  this  language,  addressed  to  the  first  pair,  in  the  instant  of 
their  creation,  was  indicated  and  confirmed  a  fruitful  energy  of 
nature, — a  propagative  force.  And  by  virtue  of  it,  flowing 
from  them  through  the  generations  of  the  race,  every  human 
being  in  turn  receives  existence.  "God  rested  the  seventh  day 
from  all  his  works.  .  .  .  The  works  were  finished  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world." — Heb.  iv.  3,  4.  How  is  it  consistent  with 
this,  to  suppose  the  existence  of  each  plant,  animal  and  man, 
now  in  turn  to  call  into  requisition  the  same  creative  power 
which  originated  the  first? 

Whilst  we  assert  the  investiture  of  the  creatures  with  a  true 
and  real  causation, — an  efficiency  which  is  proper  to  them,  apart 
3  6.  Office  of  fr°m  God's  immediate  agency,  and  which  has  a  dis- 
the  system  of  tinct  operation  of  its  own, — on  the  other  hand,  the 
nature.  creation  is  constructed  with  such  wisdom  and  fore- 

cast, and  so  upheld  and  controlled  by  the  immediate  power  and 
orovidential  government  of  God,  that  all  things  occur  in  precise 
...      ^  —  -e  with  his  will. 

That  the  phenomena  of  nature  are  elements  in  the  harmonious 
scheme  of  God's  government,  is  unquestionable.  He,  at  the  first, 
certainly  knew  the  whole  energy  of  the  various  forces  which  he 
set  in  his  works,  and  anticipated  and  designed  all  the  results. 
And  this,  not  only  as  those  forces  are  viewed,  simply,  and  apart 
from  each  other,  but  in  their  complex  and  multifarious  combina- 
tions, which  all  were  ordained  by  him.  If  the  feeble  powers  of 
man  can  determine  the  time,  place  and  extent  of  every  eclipse 
of  sun,  moon  or  planet,  for  thousands  of  years  to  come,  how 
much  more  did  the  Creator  know  the  whole  future  of  the  powers 
of  nature;  which,  having  created,  he  must  fully  comprehend. 
The  results,  therefore,  which  flow  with  unfailing  certainty  from 
these  causes,  to  which  God  thus  intelligently  gave  origin,  were 
as  truly  comprehended  in  the  original  plan  as  were  the  several 
forces  which  work  out  those  ultimate  results. 

A  striking  fact  to  our  purpose  occurs  in  the  solar  system.  It 
had  been  observed  by  astronomers  that  the  general  symmetry 


sect,  v.]         The  Providential  Administration.  115 

of  that  system  was  marred  by  an  extraordinary  vacancy  inter- 
vening between  Mars  and  Jupiter,  which,  apparently,  should 
have  been  filled  by  an  additional  planet.  On  the  first  day  of 
the  present  century,  a  planet  was  discovered  revolving  in  that 
space ;  but  too  small  to  satisfy  the  law  of  the  case.  That  dis- 
covery was  soon  followed  by  others,  until  more  than  fifty  aste- 
roids have  been  found  to  revolve  in  the  region  indicated ;  and, 
— what  is  true  of  no  other  bodies  in  the  solar  system, — all  these, 
though  taking  different  courses  in  their  revolutions  round  the  sun, 
still  cross  a  common  track.  The  result  is  little  short  of  demon- 
stration that  they  once  constituted  a  single  planet,  revolving  in 
the  path  which  they  all  twice  cross  in  their  annual  course;  and 
that  by  some  tremendous  catastrophe  it  was  rent  to  pieces  and 
the  fragments  hurled  abroad.  Facts  familiar  to  science  render  it 
probable  that  events  as  extraordinary  have  occurred  in  the 
heavens  even  under  the  astronomer's  eye.  Luminaries  which 
once  shone  with  a  steady  brightness  have  been  seen  gradually 
for  years  to  acquire  an  increasing  glare,  until  they  rivalled  the 
brightest  stars;  then  by  degrees  to  decline  with  changing 
colour,  and  go  out  in  utter  darkness !  Upon  the  supposition 
that  the  asteroids  are  the  scattered  fragments  of  a  planet  rent 
asunder  by  some  convulsion,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  Crea- 
tor knew  as  well  what  effect  would  result,  when  he  originated 
the  forces  engaged,  as  he  does  now ;  and  that,  in  creating  and 
setting  the  forces  in  operation,  he  designed  from  the  first,  this, 
no  less  than  the  other  consequences  which  have  resulted.  A 
machinist  is  not  always  to  be  held  as  having  anticipated  all  the 
effects  which  follow  the  construction  of  his  engine.  Either  he 
may  be  ignorant  of  the  forces  which  are  employed,  or  others 
may  be  introduced  which  he  did  not  design.  But  if  he  knew 
precisely  the  proportion  and  relation  of  all  the  forces  concerned, 
and  designed  the  machine  to  be  used  precisely  as  it  was,  it  is 
apparent  that  any  result  which  follows  must  have  been  included 
in  the  design.  So  of  God : — generating,  himself,  all  the  forces 
in  the  universe,  and  knowing  perfectly  all  their  relations,  the 
conclusion  is  inevitable,  that  in  laying  the  train  he  intended  the 
explosion  which  occurred.      Thus,  then,  all  natural  events,  as 


116  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  hi. 

they  are  the  effects  of  causes  wisely  originated  by  God,  are  ele- 
ments in  the  operation  of  his  hand, — features  of  his  perfect  plan. 

But  the  Creator  has  not  limited  himself,  in  the  administration 
of  his  government,  to  the  original  disposition  of  causes,  in  har- 
$1.  God's  own  monious  adaptation  to  his  purposes.  On  the  con- 
hand.  —  Me-  trary,  this  entire  system  of  nature,  in  all  the  variety 
os  a  t  eory.  Qf  -^  par£Sj  -m  a]j  their  forces  and  functions,  and  the 
adaptations  which  everywhere  abound,  was  constructed  for  the 
express  purpose  of  constituting  the  creatures  fitting  instruments, 
through  whom  and  upon  whom  the  Creator  himself  might  work ; 
instead  of  being  in  and  of  themselves  the  adequate  causes  of  the 
contemplated  results.  In  one  department  of  the  divine  govern- 
ment, this  is  indisputable.  The  intercourse  of  God  with  man 
has  been  conducted  by  a  continual  series  of  immediate  divine 
interpositions.  The  plan  of  salvation,  the  incarnation  and  work 
of  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  mission  and  operations  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  both  in  his  ordinary  influences,  and  in  his  renewing  and 
sanctifying  agency, — all  these  are  examples  of  such  interposi- 
tions, entirely  distinct  from  the  original  adaptations  of  nature. 
The  miracles,  to  which  the  Bible  bears  witness,  constitute  formal 
and  emphatic  pledges,  that  God  has  not  surrendered  the  universe 
to  the  government  of  mere  natural  laws;  although  these  are  all 
established  by  him,  in  perfect  fitness  for  their  offices ;  but  that 
he  himself  is  ever  present,  ever  active,  swaying  a  providential 
sceptre  over  his  creatures. 

On  this  subject,  the  language  of  McCosh,  in  his  work  on  the 
divine  government,  is  certainly  unguarded ;  and,  if  we  are  not 
mistaken  as  to  what  he  means  to  teach,  we  think  his  doctrine 
clearly  erroneous.  Thus,  in  one  place,  speaking  of  the  har- 
monious adaptations  which  everywhere  abound  among  the  second 
causes,  he  says,  "  By  means  of  this  pre-established  harmony,  God 
can  accomplish  not  only  his  general,  but  his  individual  pur- 
poses, and  at  the  time,  and  in  the  way,  intended  by  him. 
As  entertaining  this  view  of  the  perfection  of  the  original  con- 
stitution of  all  things,  we  see  no  advantage  in  calling  in  special 
interpositions  of  God  acting  without  physical  causes, — always 
excepting  the  miracles  employed  to  attest   divine  revelation. 


sect,  vi.]        The  Providential  Administration.  117 

But,  speaking  of  the  ordinary  providence  of  God,  we  believe  that 
the  fitting  of  the  various  parts  of  the  machinery  is  so  nice  that 
there  is  no  need  of  any  interference  with  it.  We  believe  in  an 
original  disposition  of  all  things ;  we  believe  that  in  this  disposi- 
tion there  is  provided  an  interposition  of  one  thing  in  reference 
to  another,  so  as  to  produce  the  individual  effect  which  God 
contemplates ;  but  we  are  not  required  by  philosophy  or  religion 
to  acknowledge  that  there  is  subsequent  interposition  by  God 
with  the  original  dispositions  and  interpositions  which  he  hath 
instituted.  '  This  is  in  fact  the  great  miracle  of  Providence,  that 
no  miracles  are  needed  to  accomplish  his  purposes.' — Taylor."* 

In  reference  to  the  answer  to  prayer,  he  rejects  the  supposi- 
tion of  Chalmers,  that  God  may  interpose  among  the  physical 
agents,  beyond  the  limit  to  which  human  sagacity  can  trace  the 
operation  of  law.  His  own  solution  he  thus  states  : — "  How  is 
it  that  God  sends  us  the  bounties  of  his  providence  ?  how  is  it 
that  he  supplies  the  many  physical  wants  of  his  creatures  ?  how 
is  it  that  he  encourages  industry  ?  how  is  it  that  he  arrests  the 
plots  of  wickedness  ?  how  is  it  that  he  punishes  in  this  life  noto- 
rious offenders  against  his  law  ?  The  answer  is, — by  the  skilful 
pre-arrangements  of  his  providence,  whereby  the  needful  events 
fall  out  at  the  very  time  and  in  the  very  way  required.  When 
the  question  is  asked,  How  does  God  answer  prayer  ?  we  give 
the  very  same  reply : — it  is  by  the  pre-ordained  appointment  of 
God,  when  he  settled  the  constitution  of  the  world,  and  set  all 
its  parts  in  order,  "f 

The  theory  of  pre-established  harmony  originated  with  Leib- 
nitz. It  grew  out  of  the  Cartesian  theory  as  to  the  impossibility 
of  the  mind  immediately  perceiving  external  objects.  He  there- 
fore supposed  the  soul  to  be  incapable  of  acquiring  any  informa- 
tion through  the  bodily  senses ;  and  the  body  to  be  in  no  wise  in- 
fluenced or  controlled  by  the  powers  of  the  soul.  But  they  are 
mutually  adapted  to  each  other,  in  such  a  way,  that  while  the 
body,  under  the  operation  of  merely  physical  causes,  enacts  its 
part  in  the  drama  of  life,  the  soul  evolves  from  within  a  series 
of  states  and  a  continuous  consciousness,  which  precisely  corre- 

*  McCosh  on  the  Divine  Government,  p.  190.  f  Ibid.  p.  233. 


118  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  hi. 

spond  with  the  contemporaneous  states  and  condition  of  the  body, 
a  panorama  being  as  it  were  unfolded  within  to  the  recognition 
of  the  intellect,  pari  passu  with  the  development  of  the  corre- 
sponding phenomena,  in  the  body  and  external  nature.  In  this 
respect  man  is  a  microcosm, — the  harmony  thus  instituted  be- 
tween body  and  soul  being  typical  of  what  is  universal  through- 
out the  creation.  Men  "perceive  what  passes  without  them,  by 
what  passes  within  them,  answering  to  the  things  without;  in 
virtue  of  the  harmony  which  God  has  pre-established,  by  the 
most  beautiful  and  the  most  admirable  of  all  his  productions; 
whereby  every  simple  substance  is  by  its  nature,  if  one  may  so 
say,  a  concentration  and  a  living  mirror  of  the  universe,  accord- 
ing to  its  point  of  view."* 

The  author  of  this  theory  carefully  guards  against  the  error 
of  McCosh.  It  being  objected  to  his  doctrine,  that  it  would 
bring  the  whole  economy  of  grace  within  the  province  of  natural 
laws,  and  the  instrumentality  of  second  causes,  Leibnitz  re- 
plies, that  "God  by  supernatural  influences  supplies  natural 
defects,  and  so  succours  the  soul  by  his  grace,  that  it  accom- 
plishes what  by  natural  powers  it  could  not  do.  Since,  then,  God 
from  the  beginning  proposed  to  bestow  these  special  favours 
upon  his  creatures,  he  ordered  things  in  such  a  way  that  in  the 
natural  world  all  results  should  so  present  themselves  as  to  cor- 
respond with  these  effects  in  the  kingdom  of  grace.  And  wher- 
ever the  powers  with  which  the  creatures  are  invested  are  not 
sufficient  to  this,  he  provides  by  miracle  that  which  may  serve 
to  keep  up  the  parallel;  the  operations  which  belong  to  the 
kingdom  of  grace,  being  included  in  the  nexus  of  things,  not  ex- 
cluded from  it."f  In  another  place  he  remarks,  that  "when 
God  works  miracles,  he  does  not  do  it  in  order  to  supply  the 
wants  of  nature,  but  those  of  grace. "J  Of  miracles  he  dis- 
tinguishes two  classes,  viz.,  wonders  wrought  by  angelic  power, 
and  miracles  proper,  the  immediate  works  of  omnipotence.! 
These  teachings,  however  defective,  are  much  less  exceptionable 
than  those  of  McCosh.     The  one  leaves  an  indefinite  margin,  for 

*  Corresp.  Leibnitz  and  Clarke,  1717,  p.  241.  f  Leibn.  Tentamina  Theodi- 

cseae,  \  64,  note.     %  Leibn.  and  Clarke,  p.  3.     \  lb.  p.  113 ;  Tent.  Tlieod.  \  249. 


sect,  vii.]       The  Providential  Administration,  119 

the  immediate  interposition  of  God.  The  other  limits  it  to  the 
attesting  of  revelation.  We  cannot  but  look  upon  this  theory 
as  meagre  and  unsatisfactory.  It  does  not  differ  from  the  philo- 
sophy of  Pope  which  McCosh  so  justly  condemns,  unless  it  be  in 
recognising  a  more  complex  disposition  of  the  powers  of  na- 
ture, at  the  beginning ;  and  a  more  special  regard  for  the  several 
particular  results  thence  flowing.  The  radical  error  of  the  theory, 
is  in  respect  to  the  office  to  which  creation  was  constructed. 
It  assumes  that  office  to  be  such,  that  the  admission  of  God's 
immediate  hand  would  imply  the  discovery  of  an  imperfection 
in  the  original  structure.  "The  fitting  of  the  various  parts 
of  the  machinery  is  so  nice,  that  there  is  no  need  of  any  interfe- 
rence with  it."  A  class  of  miracles  is  excepted;  but  all  things 
else  are  subjected  to  the  exclusive  disposition  of  second  causes. 
But,  if  the  nature  of  the  system  be  such,  that  the  interposition 
of  God's  immediate  agency  would  imply  a  defect,  the  assumption 
is  as  fatal  to  the  admission  of  any  sort  of  miracle,  as  of  any  other 
interposition  whatever. 

In  fact,  if  we  are  to  understand  the  phrase  "divine  revela- 
tion" in  any  such  restricted  sense  as  the  argument  of  our  author 
§  8.  Miracles  requires,  the  suggestion  that  the  sole  or  chief  office 
and  special  0f  miraculous  interpositions  is  to  attest  particular 
p'°  communications  from  God,  implies  an  exceedingly 

defective  conception  of  their  true  significance.  Whilst  it  is  a 
fact  that  miracles  did  serve  to  attest  divine  revelations,  it  is 
equally  true,  and  of  as  great  significance,  that,  to  the  greater 
part  of  the  human  family,  the  order  is  reversed,  and  it  is  the 
Scriptures  which  attest  the  miracles.  Many  indeed  of  the  most 
sublime  and  signal  miracles  which  the  world  has  ever  witnessed, 
were  wrought  ages  before  the  oldest  book  of  Scripture  was 
written ;  and  whatever  purpose  they  may  have  served,  in  attest- 
ing communications  from  God  to  the  contemporary  populations 
of  the  earth,  they  could  not,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  fulfil  such 
an  office  to  the  subsequent  generations;  to  whom  they  have 
been  made  known  by  revelation.  Such, — to  omit  all  that  re- 
spects the  immediate  family  of  Adam, — was  the  translation  of 
Enoch,  the  deluge,  the  confusion  of  tongues,  the  destruction  of 


120  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  hi. 

the  cities  of  the  plain,  and  the  various  miraculous  events  in  the 
lives  of  the  patriarchs.  So  far  from  filling  the  subordinate  office 
of  mere  attestation  to  particular  revelations,  miracles  constitute, 
in  and  of  themselves,  a  revelation  the  most  interesting  and  im- 
portant, and  which  is  fundamental  to  every  other.  They  testify 
unequivocally  to  the  very  fact  which  our  author  denies, — that 
the  omnipotent  God  exercises  a  direct  and  personal  providence 
over  all  his  works ;  in  which  he  employs  second  causes,  when  he 
sees  good,  but  is  always  and  altogether  unrestricted  by  them; 
and  whether  acting  in  them,  or  aside  from  them,  puts  forth  his 
own  power,  in  an  influence  which  is  intimate  and  all-pervasive. 
Such  is  the  principle  which  God  himself  states,  as  the  reason  of 
the  wonders  wrought  on  Pharaoh : — "  In  very  deed  for  this  cause 
have  I  raised  thee  up,  for  to  show  in  thee  my  power,  and  that 
my  name  may  be  declared  throughout  all  the  earth." — Ex.  ix.  16. 
To  it  Joshua  refers  all  the  scenes  witnessed  by  Israel  in  Egypt 
and  the  wilderness : — "that  all  the  people  of  the  earth  might 
know  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  that  it  is  mighty." — Josh.  iv.  24. 
Such  was  the  plea  of  Hezekiah,  in  answer  to  which  the  angel 
of  the  Lord  smote  in  the  camp  of  the  Assyrians  an  hundred 
fourscore  and  five  thousand: — "0  Lord  our  God,  I  beseech  thee, 
save  us  out  of  his  hand,  that  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  may 
know  that  thou  art  the  Lord  God,  even  thou  only." — 2  Kings 
xix.  19.  And  for  this  purpose  was  the  proud  king  of  Babylon 
driven  forth  among  the  beasts: — "until  thou  know  that  the 
Most  High  ruleth  in  the  kingdom  of  men,  and  giveth  it  to 
whomsoever  he  will." — Dan.  iv.  32. 

The  original  system  and  structure  of  nature  was,  unquestion- 
ably, perfect.  But  to  what  office  ?  Certainly  not  to  work  out 
its  own  results,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  agency  of  its  Author. 
Creation  is  not  a  great  clock,  wound  up  at  the  first,  and  then 
left  to  tell  off  its  fated  periods ;  but  a  vast  and  complicated  in- 
strument, perfect  in  all  its  parts,  symmetrical  and  harmonious 
in  the  multiform  play  of  its  various  forces;  each  of  which  has 
an  energy  of  its  own,  but  all  inspected  by  the  watchful  eye, 
and  ruled  and  guided  by  the  immediate  hand,  of  the  omnipresent 
Creator.     By  his  agency,  governing  and  controlling  all  those 


sect,  vii.]       The  Providential  Administration.  121 

powers,  and  modifying  the  motions  by  his  omnipotent  will,  in  a 
way  of  perfect  harmony  with  the  structure  of  the  several  parts, 
and  the  order  of  the  whole,  all  is  made  to  conform,  in  a  system  of 
manifold  wisdom  and  goodness,  to  the  accomplishment  of  his 
purposes  of  grace  and  glory.  "Of  him,  and  through  him,  and  to 
him,  are  all  things;  to  whom  be  glory  forever.  Amen." — 
Rom.  xi.  36. 

Viewed  in  any  other  light,  miracles  are  altogether  anomalous, 
conveying  the  unworthy  imputation  that  the  Creator  has  been 
reduced,  by  unforeseen  contingencies,  to  the  alternative  of  fail- 
ure in  his  designs,  or  of  turning  aside  the  actual  tendency  of 
events  by  violence,  and  forcing  them  into  such  channels  as  will 
suit  his  plans.  Hence  Hume's  false  and  insidious  definition  of  a 
miracle : — "  A  violation  of  the  laws  of  nature."  When,  however, 
we  view  the  whole  scheme  of  creation  and  providence,  as  framed 
with  the  one  object  of  providing  instruments,  in  the  use  of 
which  the  Creator  may  actively  reveal  the  glory  of  his  various 
attributes,  all  such  unworthy  conceptions  vanish.  The  laws 
of  nature  show  themselves  fully  adapted  to  accomplish  the  part 
for  which  they  were  designed, — flowing  on  in  undisturbed  cur- 
rent to  the  final  consummation ;  whilst,  gliding  harmoniously 
into  their  channel,  and  mingling  in  the  common  tide,  special 
providences  and  miracles  occur,  to  give  a  voice  to  all,  and  testify 
in  living  tones,  to  the  hearts  of  men,  that  He  whom  sun,  moon 
and  stars  proclaim,  is  not  the  Fate  of  Epicurus,  rolling  on  in 
undeviating  course,  crushing  all  beneath  its  iron  wheel, — no  blind 
abstraction  enthroned  in  heartless  severance  from  human  cares 
and  sympathies, — but  a  living,  active,  personal  Providence,  the 
Lord  and  Life  of  all ;  and,  though  unapprehended  by  sense,  still 
very  near  to  every  one  of  us.  Creation,  viewed  apart,  presents 
a  noble  form, — a  structure  the  contemplation  of  which  is  suited 
to  exalt  the  soul,  filling  its  expanding  capacities  with  sublime 
and  amazing  conceptions.  But  still  it  is  like  some  piece  from 
the  chisel  of  a  Phidias,  a  study  of  delight  to  the  artist;  but 
marble,  cold  and  lifeless ;  mocking  the  expectant  ear  with  its 
silence,  and  tiring  the  eager  eye  with  its  lofty  but  unchanging 
look.     But  as  we  gaze  in  trembling  awe,  as  with  beating  hearts 


122  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  hi. 

we  behold  the  tremendous  train  rolling  on  forever  and  forever, 
in  resistless,  headlong,  hopeless  career, — as  we  begin  to  hear  the 
ensnaring  whispers  of  atheistic  unbelief,  and  ask  ourselves  whether 
creation  itself  be  not  a  living  thing,  a  very  God,  we  are  aroused 
from  such  false  and  fatal  speculations.  There  is  a  sudden  pause, 
without  confusion  or  jar  !  The  sun,  which  from  the  birthday  of 
man  had  continually  swept  across  the  heavens,  in  his  seemingly 
fated  and  unending  course,  rests  from  his  career  on  Gibeon;  and 
the  moon,  in  the  valley  of  Ajalon.  We  behold  again,  whilst 
insatiate  Death  sees  his  bars  of  steel  rent  asunder,  and  his  vic- 
tims set  free.  Foul  diseases  fly  the  touch  of  sharers  of  flesh; 
and  even  the  insensate  elements  listen  and  obey  their  voice! 
As  we  witness  these  things,  and  observe  their  occasions,  nature 
acquires  speech, — the  lifeless  marble  becomes  warm  with  vital 
heat;  and  in  sublime  and  soul-moving  accents,  her  voice  pro- 
claims, that  the  God  who  made  all  things,  governs  all  things 
still,  and  condescends  to  care  for  man ;  that  his  gracious  provi- 
dence is  active  in  our  low  affairs;  that  "this  God  is  our  God 
for  ever  and  ever,  and  will  be  our  guide  even  unto  death." 

So,  in  the  communication  to  us  of  the  Scriptures,  in  the  incar- 
nation and  work  of  Christ,  in  the  controlling,  the  renewing  and 
sanctifying  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit, — in  all  these  we  have 
illustrations  of  the  habitual  and  immediate  intervention  of  God 
with  his  works;  constituting  a  clearly  marked  and  conspicuous 
feature  of  his  government.  These  cannot,  therefore,  be  inconsist- 
ent with,  but  constitute  a  cardinal  element  in,  the  original  plan, 
— a  feature  in  its  perfection. 

Further,  we  may  not  forget  that  there  are  other  created 
powers  in  the  universe,  beside  laws  and  physical  causes.  The 
angels, — "are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  minis- 
ter for  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation?" — Heb.  i.  14.  On 
the  other  hand  are  Satan  and  his  angels,  "  the  prince  of  the  power 
of  the  air,  the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobe- 
dience."— Eph.  ii.  2.  These  all  are  agencies  most  potent,  and 
produce  effects  most  important,  not  only  moral,  but  physical,  as 
is  seen  in  the  afflictions  of  Job,  the  temptation  of  the  Son  of  God, 
the  case  of  the  demoniac  of  Gadara,  and  others.     Above  all  these 


sect,  viii.]     The  Providential  Administration.  123 

is  the  Spirit  of  God,  ruling  over  the  powers  of  men  and  devils ; 
making  their  wrath  to  praise  him,  and  restraining  the  remainder 
thereof;  working  in  men's  hearts,  the  righteous  and  the  wicked, 
— both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure. 

So  completely  has  this  method  of  immediate  interposition 
characterized  the  history  of  the  government  of  the  world,  that, 
so  far  as  man  is  concerned,  there  are  absolutely  no  results  which, 
first  and  last,  flow  from  the  unmixed  operation  of  second  causes. 
In  one  form  or  other  the  agency  of  God's  own  hand  has  entered 
into  and  modifies  every  thing.  There  is  no  event  of  which  we 
may  not  truly  say,  in  this  special  sense,  "  This  is  the  finger  of 
God."  Nor  may  we  limit  the  sovereignty  of  God  to  the  modes 
of  intervention  here  named.  These  attest  that  he  does  not  stand 
an  idle  spectator,  but  actively  interposes  his  immediate  agency, 
in  the  government  of  his  creation.  And  the  Scriptures  abun- 
dantly testify  that  these  are  but  examples  and  illustrations  of  the 
whole  policy  of  his  administration; — that  he  is  no  more  really 
present  in  his  sovereign  power,  amid  those  amazing  displays  of 
omnipotence  and  majesty,  in  the  presence  of  which  the  earth 
trembles  and  the  mountains  are  shaken,  than  in  that  ordinary 
providence,  by  which  "he  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of 
his  own  will." — Eph.  i.  11.  In  fact,  no  doctrine  is  more  constantly 
and  emphatically  taught  in  the  Scriptures,  than  that  of  a  par- 
ticular providence,  exercised  by  the  immediate  hand  of  God. 
"  Are  not  two  sparrows  sold  for  a  farthing  ?  and  one  of  them 
shall  not  fall  on  the  ground  without  your  Father.  But  the  very 
hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered." — Matt.  x.  29,  30.  "  I  form 
the  light,  and  create  darkness ;  I  make  peace,  and  create  evil :  I 
the  Lord  do  all  these  things." — Isa.  xlv.  7.  "  0  Lord,  thou  hast 
searched  me  and  known  me.  Thou  knowest  my  downsitting  and 
mine  uprising ;  thou  understandest  my  thoughts  afar  off.  Thou 
compassest  my  path  and  my  lying  down,  and  art  acquainted 
with  all  my  ways.  For  there  is  not  a  word  in  my  tongue,  but 
lo,  0  Lord,  thou  knowest  it  altogether.  Thou  hast  beset  me 
behind  and  before,  and  laid  thine  hand  upon  me." — Psalm  cxxxix. 
1-5.  "  He  giveth  to  all,  life,  and  breath,  and  all  things ;  and 
hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all  the 


124  The  EloJiim  Revealed.  [chap.  hi. 

face  of  the  earth,  and  hath  determined  the  times  before  appointed, 

and  the  bounds  of  their  habitation For  in  him  we  live,  and 

move,  and  have  our  being." — Acts  xvii.  25-28.  "The  angel  of 
the  Lord  encampeth  round  about  them  that  fear  him,  and  de- 
livereth  them." — Psalm  xxxiv.  7.  "  God  is  our  refuge  and 
strength,  a  very  present  help  in  trouble." — Psalm  xlvi.  1.  Such 
are  the  assurances  on  which  faith  relies, — the  pledges  to  which 
prayer  appeals.  To  say  that  such  places  only  mean  to  teach  that 
the  frame  of  nature  was  so  constructed  at  the  beginning,  as 
mechanically  to  work  out  provision  for  the  case  of  the  afflicted, 
is  to  deny  the  express  terms  of  the  assurances  often  repeated, 
and  attested  by  the  Spirit  in  the  believer's  heart.  It  is,  to  mock 
his  hunger  with  ashes.  Not  mere  escape  from  danger  does  he 
want.  Not  mere  provision  for  his  necessities  does  he  seek.  But 
he  seeks  covert  in  the  bosom  of  a  present  God, — a  living,  active, 
loving  guardian  and  benefactor.  Such  a  refuge  the  Holy  Spirit 
offers  in  the  word.  Such  a  refuge  the  Comforter  within  per- 
suades him  to  expect.  The  alternative  is,  the  atheism  of  con- 
tradicting these  testimonies;  or,  the  admission  that  God  does 
exert  a  constant  and  immediate  agency  in  all  events. 

In  viewing  the  subjects  of  the  providential  government,  all  are 
naturally  resolved  into  two  elements; — the  one,  comprehending 
29  Principles  the  whole  material  system,  the  worlds  and  the 
of  administra-  lower  orders  of  creation;  which,  in  all  its  extent, 
tlon'  constitutes  the  stage  and  its  furniture,  upon  which 

the  scenes  of  divine  providence  are  enacted;  rather  than  the 
proper  subjects  of  that  providence.  The  general  characteristics 
here,  are  uniformity  and  permanence.  The  other  element  com- 
prehends the  moral  universe,  constituting  the  subjects  of  God's 
government ;  the  objects  for  whom,  in  subservience  to  the  divine 
glory,  the  material  system  was  created.  The  moral  system, 
again,  is  subdivided  into  the  two  classes  of  men  in  the  flesh,  and 
disembodied  spirits,  human  and  angelic.  In  the  general  govern- 
ment of  the  material  system,  the  reign  of  mere  natural  law  would 
seem  to  be  undisturbed  and  universal,  except  at  points  where  the 
system  is  implicated  in  more  or  less  intimate  connection  with 
the  intellectual  and  moral  world.     The  great  masses  belonging 


sect,  viii.]     The  Providential  Administration.  125 

to  this  system  are  uniform  in  their  motions,  and  their  phenomena 
unvarying  through  successive  cycles.  In  the  animal  kingdom, 
too,  this  uniformity  is  marked ;  although,  placed  as  they  are  at 
the  portals  of  the  moral  world,  endowed  with  a  measure  of  intel- 
ligence, which  constitutes  them  harbingers  of  the  higher  system, 
related  to  man  in  an  intimate  subordination  to  his  authority,  and 
implicated  in  his  relations  to  God's  government,  they  realize 
something  of  the  vicissitude  which  is  characteristic  of  his  condi- 
tion. But  the  instant  we  enter  the  moral  world,  we  find  our- 
selves surrounded  by  evidences  of  a  dispensation  operating  upon 
entirely  other  principles.  The  difference  in  the  system  of  govern- 
ment is  as  essential  and  as  great  as  is  that  between  the  nature 
of  the  unconscious  clod  and  of  the  seraphic  intelligence.  In  the 
one  world,  the  bond  of  allegiance  to  the  Creator's  throne  is  that 
of  physical  laws,  and  through  these  is  its  government  dispensed. 
In  the  other,  the  bond  is  that  of  moral  law,  addressed  to  the 
reason,  attested  by  conscience,  and  claiming  the  allegiance  of  the 
will.  The  government  in  this  system  is  conducted  by  the  agency 
of  Jehovah,  in  a  manner  which  is  continually  more  and  more 
intimate  and  immediate,  as  we  ascend  the  scale  of  moral  being. 
Whilst  men  in  their  native  state,  apostate  from  God,  are  left  in 
a  great  measure  slaves  to  earth's  vicissitudes,  and  the,  to  them, 
uncertain  operation  of  nature's  physical  laws,  the  child  of  God 
realizes  continually  increasing  evidence  of  the  habitual  interposi- 
tion of  God  in  his  behalf;  and  anticipates  with  joy  the  time  when 
he  will  be  emancipated  altogether  from  the  bondage  of  physical 
causes,  in  the  immediate  presence  of  Him,  of  whom  he  exultingly 
cries,  "  All  my  springs  are  in  thee !"  and  experience  forever  the 
dispensation  of  infinite  love,  from  the  immediate  hands  of  infinite 
Wisdom  and  Power. 

The  field  of  inquiry  at  which  we  have  thus  glanced,  would 
richly  repay  extensive  exploration.  We  can  only  now  suggest 
the  conclusions  bearing  upon  our  present  subject,  which  seem 
to  flow  alike  from  all  the  facts  that  are  accessible,  and  from  the 
whole  tenor  of  the  Scriptures.  These  are,  that  the  two  spheres 
of  divine  operation,  the  natural  and  the  moral,  are  to  be 
carefully  distinguished  from  each  other,  in  searching  out  the 


126  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  hi. 

manner  of  God's  government; — that  the  principle  of  administra- 
tion, in  the  one,  is  by  physical  causes  and  natural  laws ;  in  the 
other,  by  moral  law  and  immediate  dispensation ; — that  whilst  in 
the  mere  material  universe  the  operation  of  physical  causes 
seems  to  be  universal  and  exclusive,  and  in  the  world  of  spirits 
the  divine  administration  is  immediate,  our  world,  as  the  abode 
of  spirits  clothed  in  flesh  and  fallen,  is  the  scene  of  a  compli- 
cated dispensation,  in  which  the  ordinary  operation  of  physical 
causes  and  mediate  instrumentality  is  modified  by  continual 
interpositions  of  the  divine  hand, — interpositions  growing  in  fre- 
quency and  demonstration,  in  proportion  as  he  who  is  their  sub- 
ject draws  nearer,  and  is  qualified  for  the  realm  of  light  in 
God's  immediate  presence. 

In  regard  to  the  details  of  the  ordinary  dispensation  of  this 
providential  government,  there  are  several  things  to  be  observed, 
g  io.  Mode  of     at  which,  however,  we  can  only  glance. 
dispensation.  x.  God  is  everywhere  and  immediately  present 

among  his  creatures,  "  upholding  all  things  by  the  word  of  hi3 
power." — Heb.  i.  3.  Two  opposite  ideas  are  here  to  be  avoided; 
to  wit, — the  attributing  of  independent  existence  to  the  creatures ; 
and  the  supposition  that  their  necessary  dependence  militates 
against  the  reality  of  a  continuous  existence  and  identity  in 
them.  The  supposition  of  a  delegated  self-existence  is  a  contra- 
diction in  terms ;  and  hence,  of  necessity,  the  creatures  must 
be  dependent,  each  instant,  upon  the  power  of  the  Creator,  for 
the  instant's  continuance  in  being.  Not  only  so;  but  the  finite 
being,  the  springs  of  whose  continued  existence  were  in  itself, 
would  seem  to  be  endowed  with  power  to  put  off  that  existence. 
How  gladly  would  the  devils  plunge  into  the  gulf  of  annihila- 
tion !  But  they  forever  live,  because  the  omnipotent  God,  in 
justice,  forever  says  to  them,  Live,  to  endure  the  curse !  On 
the  other  hand,  the  existence  which  is  thus  momentarily  en- 
joyed at  the  will  of  omnipotence,  is  not  the  result  of  a  suc- 
cession of  new  creative  acts.  Logically,  the  two  ideas, — that  of 
a  continued  existence,  sustained  by  God;  and  that  of  a  perpetual 
series  of  new  and  transient  creations,  of  the  same  form  and 
character,  and  sustaining  the  same  relations, — are  altogether 


sect,  ix.]        The  Providential  Administration.  127 

distinct,  and  cannot  by  any  process  be  reduced  to  identity. 
Morally,  the  latter  breaks  up  all  ties  of  relation  between  the 
creatures,  and  of  them  towards  God,  and  reduces  the  universe  to 
an  unreal  phantasm.  Scripturally,  this  conception  has  no  counte- 
nance; but,  on  the  contrary,  God's  upholding  power,  sustaining 
the  creatures  in  a  really  continuous  existence,  is  constantly  as- 
serted. This  upholding  agency  has  regard  both  to  the  material 
and  spiritual  creation ;  every  part  of  which  alike  has  its  being 
in  God.  The  following  points  have  more  immediate  respect  to 
man. 

2.  In  all  men  the  Holy  Spirit  exerts  a  continually  restraining 
energy,  so  as  to  keep  their  corruptions,  as  well  as  all  their 
powers,  within  the  bounds  which  he  has  appointed,  for  his  own 
holy  purposes.  Man  having  so  departed  from  God  as  to  be 
altogether  disinclined  to  reverence  or  love  him,  or  to  obey  his 
law,  all  bonds  of  moral  restraint  are  broken,  and  the  only 
reason  why  men,  thus  lost  to  holy  motives,  are  not  rivals  in 
wickedness  to  the  lost  inhabitants  of  hell,  is,  that  God  in  mercy, 
by  his  providence  and  Spirit,  puts  restraint  upon  their  native 
corruptions,  allowing  them  to  flow  out  so  far  as  may  serve  to 
accomplish  his  holy  purposes,  but  otherwise  holding  them  under 
his  omnipotent  restraint.  Hence  the  language  of  the  Psalmist ; 
"  Surely  the  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  thee :  the  remainder  of 
wrath  shalt  thou  restrain." — Psalm  lxxvi.  10.  In  this  fact  we 
have  the  key  to  Paul's  statement,  that  "whom  he  will  he  hard- 
eneth." — Kom.  ix.  18.  By  relaxing  the  bonds  and  allowing  cor- 
ruption to  flow,  he  permits  the  heart  to  grow  hard  and  the  con- 
science to  become  seared. 

3.  Even  where  there  is  not  an  absolute  restraint  put  upon 
the  corruptions,  the  natural  impulses  and  dispositions  of  men, 
they  are  so  limited  that  they  may  take  no  other  than  that 
direction  which  will  fulfil  the  divine  purposes.  Thus,  in  the 
case  of  the  hostility  of  the  brethren  of  Joseph,  they  were  re- 
strained from  putting  him  to  death,  but  left  to  sell  him  into 
Egypt,  so  bringing  to  pass  the  very  thing  which  they  were  en- 
deavouring to  prevent ;  so  that  Joseph  truly  says,  "  It  was  not 
you  that  sent  me  hither,  but  God." — Gen.  xlv.  8.     The  rulers 


128  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  hi. 

of  Israel  were  thus  restrained  in  regard  to  the  murder  of  the 
Son  of  God;  so  that  they,  who  were  continually  breaking  out 
into  factions  and  imbruing  their  hands  in  blood,  insist  upon  the 
execution  of  Christ  by  the  Koman  governor,  with  the  plea,  that 
it  was  not  lawful  for  them  to  put  any  man  to  death.  But  this 
came  to  pass  that  the  Scriptures  might  be  fulfilled,  that  thus  it 
should  be.  His  body  must  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth  as  a 
curse;  and  his  blood  must  flow  as  a  sacrifice; — two  circumstances 
which  did  not  meet  in  any  Jewish  mode  of  execution.  The 
feature  of  the  divine  administration  here  pointed  out,  solves  the 
difficulty  that  is  sometimes  apprehended,  in  such  places  as  that  of 
Peter : — "  Him,  being  delivered  by  the  determinate  counsel  and 
foreknowledge  of  God,  ye  have  taken  and  by  wicked  hands  have 
crucified  and  slain." — Acts  ii.  23.  God  neither  gave  nor  stimu- 
lated wrong  dispositions  in  the  actors  in  that  atrocious  scene, 
nor  did  he  give  a  bare  permission ;  "  but  such  as  had  joined 
with  it  a  most  wise  and  powerful  bounding  and  otherwise  order- 
ing and  governing  of  them,  in  a  manifold  dispensation  to  his 
own  holy  ends,  yet  so  as  the  sinfulness  thereof  proceeded  only 
from  the  creature  and  not  from  God."* 

4.  A  controlling  influence  of  a  somewhat  different  kind  is 
illustrated  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  book  of  Esther.  Sleep  is 
withheld  from  the  king,  and  his  wakeful  thoughts  are  led  to 
the  records  of  his  reign,  the  reading  of  which  gives  occasion  to 
the  honouring  of  Mordecai,  and  the  defeat  of  all  the  plans  of 
Haman.  Essentially  similar  in  its  nature  was  the  influence 
exerted  in  the  minds  of  Pharaoh  and  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  in- 
ducing their  prophetic  dreams,  which  were  interpreted  by 
Joseph  and  Daniel.  Thus  it  is  evident  that  God  can  and  does 
exert  a  direct  influence  over  the  minds  of  men,  even  the  un- 
godly, inducing  thoughts  suited  to  the  accomplishing  of  his  pur- 
poses. "  The  king's  heart  is  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  as  the 
rivers  of  water :  he  turneth  it  whithersoever  he  will." — Prov. 
xxi.  1. 

5.  On  the  other  hand,  in  all  holy  exercises  and  right  actions, 
the  immediate  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  active,  creating  right 

*  Westminster  Confession,  ch.  v.  4. 


sect,  x.]         The  Providential  Administration.  129 

affections,  and  leading  and  impelling  his  people  to  do  such  things 
as  are  in  accordance  with  God's  holy  will ;  so  that  whilst  the 
liberty  of  the  agent  is  not  taken  away,  but  he  is  freed  from  his 
previous  bondage  to  corruption  and  sin,  and,  by  the  exercise  of 
his  natural  faculties,  "  worketh  out  his  own  salvation  with  fear 
and  trembling,"  on  the  other  hand,  as  to  the  real  efficiency  and 
power,  "it  is  God  which  worketh  in  him  both  to  will  and  to  do  of 
his  good  pleasure." — Phil.  ii.  12, 13.  It  is  to  this,  especially,  that 
the  apostle  James  refers,  when,  denying  that  we  are  tempted 
of  God,  but  of  our  own  corruptions,  he,  on  the  contrary,  adds 
that  "  every  good  gift  and  every  perfect  gift  is  from  above,  and 
cometh  down  from  the  Father  of  lights." — James  i.  17. 

6.  Beside  these  modes  of  operation  in  the  ordinary  providence 
of  God,  who  shall  forbid,  that  in  many  ways,  untraceable  by  us, 
but  adoringly  witnessed  by  blessed  spirits,  the  immediate  power 
of  God  should  interpose  in  human  affairs?  "We  are  persuaded 
that  the  whole  analogy  of  his  government,  and  the  tone  of  the 
entire  Scriptures,  lead  directly  to  this  conclusion.  We  are  con- 
fident that  we  express  but  the  common  experience  and  the  com- 
mon sentiment  of  his  people, — of  those  with  whom  is  "the  secret 
of  the  Lord," — in  declaring  our  conviction  that  in  multitudes  of 
instances  they  are  indebted  to  the  fatherly  care  of  an  almighty 
hand,  which,  concealed  from  carnal  observation,  but  recognised 
by  faith,  dispenses  blessings  which  the  natural  action  of  second 
causes  would  never  have  conveyed. 

The  government  of  God,  thus  variously  administered,  is  uni- 
versal in  its  dominion,  and  constant  in  its  exercise;  it  has  re- 
§  n.  Condu-  spect  to  the  most  minute,  as  well  as  the  greatest 
sion-  results;  and  is  absolute  in  its  sway.     It  is  not  a 

mere  influence,  but  a  power.  Omnipotent  to  arrest  the  sun  in 
its  course,  to  loose  the  fountains  of  waters,  or  to  command  the 
sea  back  to  its  appointed  place, — it  with  equal  sovereignty  rules 
the  wills  of  men,  angels  and  devils.  To  assert  the  will  to  be  of 
such  a  nature  as  to  be  necessarily  independent  of  God,  is  to  say 
that  he,  in  making  it  for  his  own  purposes,  placed  it  beyond  his 
own  power.  To  say  that  it  cannot  be  subject  to  an  effectual 
control,  without  destroying  its  moral  agency,  is  to  pretend  to 


130  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  hi. 

have  fathomed  all  its  depths,  and  measured  the  whole  extent 
and  nature  of  its  relations  to  the  creative  hand.  It  is  to  assume 
that  there  cannot  be  in  the  soul  any  susceptibilities,  accessible 
even  to  the  power  of  its  Maker,  outside  the  sphere  of  its  self- 
conscious  activity; — which  is  most  absurd.  To  deny  that  God 
can  rule  the  creature  he  has  made,  as  it  is,  endowed  with  attri- 
butes bestowed  by  him,  is  to  imagine  the  delegated  power  of  God 
which  resides  in  the  creature  to  be  superior  to  that  which  is  in 
the  Creator  himself;  which  is  a  contradiction  in  terms.  It  is  to 
limit  God;  which  is  atheism. 

In  short,  the  universe  was  framed  specifically  to  reveal  the 
very  truth  concerning  the  nature  of  that  God  who  is  everywhere 
and  ever  present,  the  sovereign  of  all,  essentially  active, 
and  infinitely  wise  and  good.  This  it  does,  not  by  presenting 
him,  once  active  in  creation,  and  then  forever  quiescent, — once 
sovereign,  in  decreeing  the  order  of  creation,  and  the  events  of 
providence;  and  then  forever  an  inactive  spectator; — once  pre- 
sent with  his  creatures,  in  giving  them  existence  and  attributes ; 
and  then  forever  withdrawn  within  himself; — once,  in  the  be- 
ginning, exhausting  the  stores  of  his  beneficence;  and  then  for- 
ever ceasing  to  bestow.  Such  is  not  the  God  of  the  Bible, — the 
God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, — the  glorious  worker 
whom  nature  proclaims.  The  creatures,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  were  formed  with  two  designs; — to  be  objects  in  whom  the 
glory  of  the  perfections  of  God  should  have  exercise  and  dis- 
play;— and  to  be  made  happy  in  apprehending  that  glory.  As 
finite,  they  could  not  apprehend  the  glory  of  God,  or  perceive 
his  activity,  except  as  displayed  upon  finite  things.  Hence,  in 
this  aspect  of  it,  the  creation  itself; — presenting,  on  the  one 
hand,  an  expanse  vast  enough,  alike  in  physical  and  moral  di- 
mensions, to  exhaust  the  loftiest  created  powers;  and  on  the 
other,  in  its  details,  stooping  to  the  reach  of  the  meanest  capa- 
city. Again,  in  but  two  ways  could  our  infirmity  trace  the 
working,  and  in  it,  the  glory,  of  God, — in  the  universe  thus 
created; — as  he  works  through  the  creatures;  that  is,  by  the 
mediation  of  second  causes;  and  as  he  acts  upon  them,  by  his 
own  immediate  power.     The  uniformity  and  mediate  action  of 


sect,  xi.]        The  Providential  Administration.  131 

the  one  mode  of  operation  is  requisite  alike  to  the  free  agency 
and  happiness  of  the  creatures  and  the  revelation  of  the  wisdom 
and  unchangeableness  of  the  Creator.  The  speciality  of  the 
other,  is  as  necessary  and  important,  alike  to  the  creatures,  and 
to  the  revelation  of  the  living  God.  By  this  means  is  it  made 
known  that  it  is  God,  and  not  nature,  that  ruleth;  and  that 
everywhere  and  in  all  things  he  is, — the  ever  present,  ever 
active,  ever  sovereign  and  gracious  God.  Said  the  Saviour, 
"My  Father  worketh  hitherto,  and  I  work." — John  v.  17.  The 
attempt  to  ignore  his  immediate  agency  in  the  orderings  of 
special  providences,  out  of  respect  to  the  orderly  working  of  the 
laws  of  nature,  is  as  unphilosophical  and  unscriptural  as  is  the 
denial  of  second  causes,  and  the  reference  of  all  things  to  God  as 
not  only  the  first,  but  the  only,  cause.  "  God  in  his  ordinary  pro- 
vidence maketh  use  of  means ;  yet  is  free  to  work  without,  above 
and  against  them,  at  his  pleasure."*  In  all  the  modes  of  dispensa- 
tion it  is  the  same  God.  In  all  he  works  with  equal  and  absolute 
sovereignty.  In  all  he  is  most  holy  and  good.  In  all  there  is  the 
most  perfect  harmony,  and  concurrence  to  the  wise  and  holy  de- 
signs. In  the  interpositions  of  his  own  hand  he  does  no  violence 
to  the  laws  and  order  of  nature,  which  he  himself  ordained.  In 
the  procession  of  second  causes  and  ordinary  providence  he  does 
not  preclude,  but  anticipates  and  provides  for,  the  immediate  ex- 
ertions of  his  power.  In  each  alike  are  unfolded  the  harmonious 
elements  of  the  perfect  plan,  which,  formed  in  the  beginning,  and 
infallibly  accomplished  in  all  its  details,  shall  be  displayed  in  the 
amazing  glory  of  the  whole  result,  at  the  consummation  of  all 
things;  to  the  unspeakable  blessedness  of  his  saints,  and  the  in- 
finite honour  of  their  wonderful  God. 

*  Westminster  Confession,  ch.  v.  8. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ADAM   THE   LIKENESS   OF   GOD. 

"  Now  heaven  in  all  her  glory  shone,  and  rolled 
Her  motions,  as  the  first  great  Mover's  hand 
First  wheeled  their  course ;  earth  in  her  rich  attire 
Consummate  lovely  smiled  ;  air,  water,  earth, 
By  fowl,  fish,  beast,  was  flown,  was  swam,  was  walked 
Frequent ;  and  of  the  sixth  day  yet  remained, 
There  wanted  yet  the  master  work,  the  end 
Of  all  yet  done ;  a  creature  who,  not  prone 
And  brute,  as  other  creatures,  but  endued 
With  sanctity  of  reason,  might  erect 
His  stature,  and  upright,  with  front  serene, 
Govern  the  rest ;  self-knowing,  and  from  thence 
Magnanimous,  to  correspond  with  heaven ; 
But  grateful  to  acknowledge  whence  his  good 
Descends  ;  thither  with  heart  and  voice  and  eyes 
Directed  in  devotion,  to  adore 
And  worship  God  supreme,  who  made  him,  chief 
Of  all  his  works." — Paradise  Lost,  Book  vii. 

It  is  the  morning  of  creation.  The  world  has  been,  by  the 
almighty  "Word  of  God,  made  of  nothing.  Light  has  been  shed 
3  l.  Adam  upon  the  formless  mass;  the  waters  gathered  to- 
tke  image  and  gether ;  the  dry  land  exposed  and  planted  with 
likeness.  grass,  herbs  and   trees;    the   heavenly  hosts  have 

been  marshalled  to  their  stations  and  services ;  the  waters  peopled 
with  fish;  the  forests  and  plains  with  the  inferior  animals,  and 
the  air  with  the  feathered  tribes.  Thns  far  the  narrative  of 
Moses  flows  without  interruption,  and  the  scenes  of  the  creation 
pass  continuously  before  us.  But  here  occurs  a  pause  in  the 
story.  A  council  of  the  Triune  Creator  sits ;  and  from  it  issues 
a  decree  for  the  creation  of  man: — "Let  us  make  man  in  our 
image,  after  our  likeness;  and  let  them  have  dominion  over  the 

132 


sect,  i.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  133 

fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  the  cattle, 
and  over  all  the  earth,  and  over  every  creeping  thing  that  creep- 
eth  upon  the  earth.  So  God  created  man  in  his  own  image :  in 
the  image  of  God  created  he  him;  male  and  female  created  he 
them."— Gen.  i.  26,  27. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  insist  that  the  creation  here  an- 
nounced is  not  merely  of  the  first  man,  but  of  the  species.  This 
is  involved  in  all  which  follows,  and  is  announced  in  the  decree 
itself: — "Let  us  make  man,  and  let  them  have  dominion."  It 
is,  din, — not,  tf'N, — man,  and  not,  a  man.  So,  too,  in  the  Septua- 
gint  and  Vulgate,  the  generic,  and  not  the  individual  designa- 
tion, is  used.     It  is,  avdpcorcoc;  and  homo, — not  durJto  nor  vir. 

Great  prominence  is  given  to  Adam's  likeness  to  God.  Twice 
mentioned  in  the  decree  of  his  creation,  it  is  twice  re-stated  in 
the  account  of  the  work.  There  are  some  facts  which  would 
seem  to  give  plausibility  to  the  supposition  that  the  same  idea 
is  couched  in  his  name, — that  it  is  derived  from,  Di,  dam,  mean- 
ing, likeness.  Adam  was  not  made  of  earth,  (n^nx),  adamah, 
but  of  dust,  (^zy),  haphar.  In  the  following  places  the  word. 
("13^),  dust,  is  used  to  describe  the  material  of  man's  body: — 
Gen.  ii.  7,  iii.  19 ;  Job  vii.  21,  x.  9,  xvii.  16,  xxi.  26,  xxxiv.  15,  xl.  13 ; 
Psalm  xxii.  29,  xxx.  9,  ciii.  14,  civ.  29;  Eccl.  iii.  20,  xii.  7;  Dan. 
xii.  2.  In  no  instance,  is  the  word,  (noix),  earth,  or  ground,  so  em- 
ployed. Further,  the  material  of  his  corporeal  frame  is  neither 
mentioned  in  the  original  narrative  of  his  creation  and  the  giving 
of  his  name,  in  Gen.  i.  26,  27,  nor  in  the  subsequent  rehearsal 
of  the  same  facts,  in  Gen.  v.  1,  2;  but  is  introduced  in  another 
place,  (Gen.  ii.  7,)  in  an  incidental  manner,  unaccompanied  with 
any  allusion  to  the  giving  of  his  name ;  whilst  in  both  of  the 
places  where  his  naming  is  mentioned,  it  is  in  pointed  connec- 
tion with  the  assertion  of  his  likeness  to  God. — "And  God  said, 
Let  us  make  Adam  (the  likeness)  in  our  image,  after  our  like- 
ness. ...  So  God  created  Adam  in  his  own  image." — Gen. 
i.  26,  27.  "  In  the  day  that  God  created  Adam,  in  the  likeness 
of  God  made  he  him,  male  and  female  created  he  them,  and 
blessed  them,  and  called  their  name  Adam,  (the  likeness,)  in  the 
day  when  they  were  created." — Gen.  v.  1,  2.     Thus,  too,  the 


134  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

name  was  an  element  in  the  blessing;  a  fact  which  seems  best  to 
accord  with  its  meaning,  the  likeness.  On  the  other  hand,  when, 
in  the  utterance  of  the  curse,  a  form  of  expression  is  used,  which 
throws  emphasis  upon  the  mention  of  the  material  of  his  body, 
we  look  in  vain  for  any  allusion  to  his  name;  although  had  it 
signified,  earth,  such  an  allusion  was  confidently  to  be  expected. 
It  is  not  said,  "Adam  (earth)  thou  art,"  &c,  but  "Dust  thou 
art,  and  unto  dust  shalt  thou  return." — Gen.  iii.  19.  How  ac- 
cordant with  the  genius  of  the  Hebrew  language  would  have 
been  the  introduction  of  Adam's  name,  had  it  meant,  earth,  will 
be  seen  by  reference  to  such  places  as  1  Sam.  xxv.  25 : — "  As  his 
name  is,  so  is  he;  Nabal  (folly)  is  his  name,  and  folly  is  with 
him."  This  figure  (paronomasia)  is  frequent  in  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures,  and,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  is  generally  lost  in 
translation;  e.g.  Judges  xv.  16;  Amos  viii.  1,  2.  In  Matt.  xvi. 
18,  we  have  a  memorable  example: — "Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon 
this  rock  (petra)  I  will  build  my  church." 

The  manner  of  Adam's  creation  fixes  our  attention,  no  less 
emphatically,  upon  a  peculiar  and  divine  nature,  distinguishing 
him  above  the  other  works  of  God.  Of  the  other  creatures, 
God  said,  "Let  the  earth  bring  forth  grass; — Let  the  waters 
bring  forth  the  moving  creature; — Let  the  earth  bring  forth  the 
living  creature,  cattle,  &c. ;  and  it  was  so."  But  of  man  the 
Creator  appears  in  a  more  immediate  and  peculiar  manner  the 
builder  of  his  body,  and  the  author  of  his  soul.  "  God  said,  Let 
us  make  man,"  &c.  "And  the  Lord  God  formed  man  of  the 
dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of 
life,  and  man  became  a  living  soul."  This  formation  of  his  body 
by  the  finger  of  God,  and  origin  of  his  spirit  from  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  Almighty,  was  what  entitled  Adam  to  that  noble 
designation  by  which  Luke  calls  him,  "the  Son  of  God." 

To  all  this,  add  the  contrast  which  Moses  holds  forth,  between 
the  likeness  inscribed  on  Adam  by  his  Maker,  and  that  trans- 
mitted by  him  to  Seth  and  his  seed.  When  Moses  wrote,  the 
generations  of  Adam's  other  sons  had  all  perished  in  the  flood. 
His  narrative  of  them  is  brief,  and  leaves  us  to  infer  what  sort 
of  nature  thev  inherited,  from  the  character  of  their  deeds,  and 


sect,  i.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  135 

the  fearfulness  of  their  doom.  But  he  wrote  for  the  children 
of  Seth;  whose  seed  constitute  the  present  population  of  the 
globe;  and  he  is  therefore  more  specific,  in  describing  the  nature 
which  they  inherited.  "Id  the  day  that  God  created  man,  in 
the  likeness  of  God  made  he  him;  male  and  female  created  he 
them;  and  blessed  them,  and  called  their  name,  Adam,  in  the  day 
when  they  were  created.  And  Adam  lived  an  hundred  and 
thirty  years,  and  begat  a  son  in  his  own  likeness,  after  his  image ; 
and  called  his  name  Seth." — Gen.  v.  1-3.  Adam's  name  re- 
mained; but  the  glory  of  the  likeness  was  obscured;  and  his  son 
inherits, — not  the  original  and  perfect  image  of  God, — but  the 
likeness  of  his  fallen  parent.  "How  is  the  gold  become  dim, 
and  the  most  fine  gold  changed!" 

There  is  a  difference  in  the  meaning  of  the  words,  image,  and 
likeness,  as  applied  to  Adam;  which,  although  not  essential,  is 
worthy  of  notice.  The  word,  image,  seems  to  express,  properly, 
a  mere  form,  or  external  figure,  as  when  it  is  said,  "  Ye  shall 
break  down  their  images." — Ex.  xxiii.  24.  But  the  word,  like- 
ness, is  more  full  in  its  meaning,  as  expressing  a  resemblance,  in 
all  respects  as  complete  as  possible.  It  intimated,  not  only  a 
general  likeness  to  God,  in  the  attributes  of  Adam's  nature,  but 
an  intimate  resemblance,  in  his  endowments,  attitude  and  ac- 
tions. It  expressed  not  only  the  possession  of  will,  conscience 
and  reason,  says  Luther,  but  "that  he  possessed  such  a  reason, 
and  such  an  understanding,  that  he  understood  and  knew  God; 
and  a  will  by  which  he  willed  and  desired  that  which  God  willed 
and  desired."*  The  use  of  these  two  words  thus  associated  was 
also  designed  to  emphasize  man's  likeness  to  God. 

We  have  already  intimated  man's  likeness  to  God  to  have  been 
set  up  for  the  instruction  and  admiration,  not  of  man  only, 
but  of  the  heavenly  intelligences.  To  limit  the  design  to  earth, 
is  objectionable,  for  several  reasons.  (1.)  Adam  had  no  human 
fellows  to  behold  that  image,  as  in  original  perfection  it  shone 
in  him.  (2.)  It  was  he  as  the  impersonation  of  the  whole  race, 
and,  after  him,  the  race  collectively  rather  than  individually, 
that  constitute  the  image, — an  image  in  the  light  of  which  each 

*  Luther  on  the  First  Five  Chapters  of  Genesis.     Edinburgh,  1858,  p.  444. 


136  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

individual  shines ;  but  which,  in  its  full  glory,  is  only  seen  in  the 
whole. — "Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after  our  likeness,  and 

let  them  have  dominion In  the  image  of  God  created 

he  him;  male  and  female  created  he  them.  And  God  blessed 
them;  and  God  said  unto  them,  Be  fruitful." — Gen.  i.  26-28. 
"He  blessed  them,  and  called  their  name  Adam,  in  the  day 
when  they  were  created." — Gen.  v.  2.  (3.)  The  angels  have 
been  from  the  first  employed  in  the  service  of  man,  as  their 
proper  business.  They  are  "all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth 
to  minister  for  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation." — Heb. 
i.  14.  They  have  been  astonished  witnesses  of  all  the  wonders 
which  man's  salvation  unfolds;  as  Paul  says  of  the  apostles, — 
"We  are  made  a  spectacle  unto  the  world,  and  to  angels,  and 
to  men." — 1  Cor.  iv.  9.  And  they  have  been  eager  students 
of  the  mysteries  of  God's  glory  which  man's  history  reveals. 
"Which  things,"  says  Peter,  speaking  of  the  doctrines  of 
the  preached  gospel, — "Which  things  the  angels  desire  to 
look  into." — 1  Pet.  i.  12.  (4.)  The  mission  of  man  as  God's 
image  finds  its  consummation  in  the  second  Adam,  and  in  his 
body  the  church,  exercising  from  the  throne  of  heaven  that 
dominion  which  was  stated  as  one  feature  of  Adam's  image,  in 
the  decree  for  his  creation ;  and  swaying  a  sceptre  and  revealing 
a  glory,  on  which  every  eye  in  the  universe  will  gaze,  in  wonder 
and  joy;  and  which  every  beholder  will  celebrate  and  adore. 

Thus,  amid  the  shoutings  of  the  sons  of  God,  was  man  in- 
stalled, the  likeness  of  his  Maker.  What  a  high  dignity  and 
1 2.  His  body  prerogative  was  this !  But  wherein  did  the  likeness 
immortal.  consist?     Certainly  it  was  not  in  his  bodily  shape. 

"To  whom  will  ye  liken  God?  or  what  likeness  will  ye  compare 
unto  him?" — Isa.  xl.  18.  It  is  a  trait  of  man's  atrocious  apos- 
tasy, that  the  heathen  have  "changed  the  glory  of  the  incor- 
ruptible God  into  an  image  made  like  to  corruptible  man." — Kom. 
i.  23.  The  utmost  that  can  be  said  in  this  respect,  as  to  Adam's 
body,  is,  that  in  beauty  and  dignity  of  form,  and  skill  of  mechan- 
ism, it  was  worthy  to  be  the  crowning  work  of  God's  material 
creation;  constituting  a  well- adapted  home  for  the  illustrious 
spirit  that  dwelt  therein.     In  one  respect,  indeed,  it  shared  in 


sect,  i.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  137 

the  likeness  in  which  the  spirit  shone.  It  was  immortal.  As 
created,  it  was  endowed  with  a  life  which  was  altogether  inde- 
pendent of  that  decay  and  dissolution  which  were  characteristic 
of  all  the  lower  creatures  beside.  To  the  inferior  brute  creation, 
decay  and  death  were  normal  conditions.  By  occasion  of  this, 
the  earth  displays  that  ever  changing  scene,  and  exhaustless  va- 
riety, which  serve  to  display  the  power  and  resources  of  the 
Creator.  These  are  seen  in  the  varying  proportions  of  genera 
and  species,  which  fill  the  earth,  and  the  unfailing  perpetuation 
of  tribes  and  families;  which  remain  whilst  individuals  and 
generations  continually  vanish  away.  Amid  the  perishing  my- 
riads of  animated  nature  Adam  sat  enthroned,  showing  God's 
image,  as  well  in  the  immortality  of  his  imperishable  body,  as 
in  those  higher  moral  perfections  which  clothed  his  undying  soul. 
As  the  fall  of  man  did  not  first  kindle  the  fires  of  hell, — they 
were  "prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels," — so,  neither  did 
it  originate  the  decay  and  physical  death,  which  prey  upon  the 
irrational  creatures  of  earth.  These  were  their  original  inherit- 
ance. But  the  apostasy,  which  cast  the  moral  nature  of  man 
into  the  gulf  of  depravity  and  the  abyss  of  hell,  the  proper  home 
of  the  rebel  angels,  at  the  same  time  robbed  his  body  of  its 
native  immortality,  and  debased  it  to  companionship  with  the 
beasts,  which  lie  down  in  the  dust  and  perish.  As  made  at 
first,  Adam's  body  was  alike  free  from  the  power  of  disease  and 
pain,  and  superior  to  the  sceptre  of  death.  Clothed  in  the  like- 
ness of  Him  that  liveth,  there  was  no  element  of  his  being  liable 
to  the  influence  of  decay,  nor  subject  to  the  power  of  dissolu- 
tion. His  whole  body  was  redolent  with  the  energy  of  an  ever 
growing  vitality,  and  attuned  to  the  experience  of  ever  present 
enjoyment,  in  the  service  and  praise  of  his  Maker. 

We  have  already  alluded  to  the  fact  that  man's  nature  was 
designed  and  constructed  so  as  to  shadow  forth  dimly,  yet  really, 
2  3.  His  gene-  the  relations  of  the  three  Persons  subsisting  in  the 
rathe  nature.  one  cjivine  nature.  In  this  respect  the  office  of  the 
first  Adam  was  correspondent  with  that  of  the  Second.  He 
was  the  likeness  of  Elohim,  God  the  Father,  as  the  representa- 
tive of  the  Godhead,  and  head  of  the  subsistence  of  the  other 


138  Tlie  EloUm  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

persons.  In  Adam  the  generative  function  was  designed  as  a 
means  of  revealing  that  mysterious  generation  which  is  in  God ; 
and  the  breath  of  life  was  a  symbol  or  type  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
proceeding  from  God. 

On  this  subject  two  errors  are  to  be  avoided.  The  one  is 
"intruding  into  those  things  which  we  have  not  seen,  vainly 
puffed  up  by  a  fleshly  mind.'" — Col.  ii.  18.  The  other  is  a  re- 
fusal to  receive  those  things  which  were  written  by  the  finger  of 
God,  for  our  learning.  (Kom.  xv.  4.)  As  to  the  manner  of  the 
divine  generation,  the  Scriptures  are  silent ;  and  it  becomes 
us,  therefore,  to  lay  our  hands  upon  our  mouths.  This  much  is 
certain,  that  this  most  holy  mystery  is  infinitely  removed  from 
any  thing  analogous  to  the  manner  of  carnal  generation,  and 
that  any  imagination,  even,  which  should  attempt  to  trace  such 
an  analogy,  or  attribute  any  thing  sensual  to  the  doctrine,  is 
an  atrocious  insult  to  the  spirituality,  the  unapproachable  purity 
and  holiness,  and  the  unsearchableness  of  the  divine  nature.  In 
no  form  has  the  depravity  of  man  been  more  signally  displayed, 
than  in  the  abominations  which  have  sought  apology  or  claimed 
justification  from  this  ineffable  feature  in  the  nature  of  God. 

But,  whilst  we  are  thus  solemnly  admonished  to  "stand  in 
awe  and  sin  not,"  the  fact  that  men  turn  the  grace  of  God  into 
lasciviousness,  does  not  derogate  from  the  reality  and  precious- 
ness  of  the  grace.  And  reverence  for  the  Holy  One  is  not  to 
be  displayed  nor  cultivated,  by  closing  our  eyes  or  stopping 
our  ears  to  any  revelation  of  himself  which  he  may  have  seen 
fit  to  make.  "  The  secret  things  belong  unto  the  Lord  our  God; 
but  those  things  which  are  revealed  belong  unto  us  and  to  our 
children  forever," — Deut.  xxix.  29 ;  and  it  is  as  much  our  duty 
reverently  to  study  what  is  revealed,  as  to  acquiesce  and  adore 
respecting  what  is  not  disclosed.  As  we  have  seen  already,  the 
testimony  of  the  Scriptures  is  abundant  and  emphatic,  to  the 
fact  of  the  eternal  generation  of  the  Son  of  God, — a  generation 
consisting  in  a  peculiar,  unsearchable  and  eternal  communica- 
tion from  the  Father,  and  derivation  by  the  Son,  of  the  un- 
divided divine  essence  in  which  both  equally  subsist,  and  by 
virtue  of  community  in  which  these  Two  are  One. 


sect,  in.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  139 

"  The  generation  of  Christ  is  a  mystery  so  profound 
that  it  is  dangerous  for  us  to  wade  into  this  depth  further  than 
we  have  light  from  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Therefore,  let  us  be 
soberly  wise  in  this  matter.  Let  us  rest  satisfied  in  this,  that 
we  have  the  to  ore,  that  it  is,  plainly  revealed;  leaving  the  to 
dedze,  or  manner  how  it  is,  to  God  himself,  who  alone  hath  the 
perfect  knowledge  of  himself.  .... 

"  But  tho'  these  things  be  so,  yet  some  things  we  may  safely 
adventure  upon,  in  a  consistency  with  divine  revelation,  to  dis- 
tinguish the  generation  of  the  Son  from  temporal  generations 
among  men,  and  to  prevent  dangerous  errors  and  mistakes,  by 
explaining  negatively  what  this  generation  is  not.  And  let 
us    endeavour    to    do    this   with   reverence   and    godly   fear, 

looking  up  to  the  Father  of  lights  for  light  from  above 

The  most  proper  generation  in  things  created  is  the  vital 
production  of  another  in  the  same  nature.  A  man  begets  a 
son;  that  is,  he  produceth  another  of  the  same  nature  with 
himself.  There  is  a  communication  of  the  essence  of  the  begetter 
to  him  that  is  begotten,  whereby  he  that  is  begotten  partakes 
of  the  same  nature  with  him  that  begets.  So  here,  in  this  eter- 
nal and  ineffable  generation,  the  Father  communicates  to  the 
Son  the  same  divine  essence  which  he  himself  hath ;  so  that  the 
Son  is  of  the  same  nature  or  essence  with  the  Father.  And, 
as  among  men,  the  son  bears  some  likeness  or  similitude  of 
the  father,  so,  here,  the  eternal  Son  is  the  Father's  express  and 
perfect  image  and  similitude,  even  '  the  express  image  of  his 
person.' — Heb.  i.  3.  Yea,  the  generation  of  the  Lord  Christ  is 
the  most  proper  generation, — a  generation  that  is  most  properly 
so  called.  For,  generation  being  the  production  of  the  like  in 
the  similitude  of  nature,  therefore,  where  there  is  the  nearest 
identity  of  nature,  there  must  be  also  the  most  proper  generation. 
But,  here,  the  Father  hath  begotten  a  Son  of  the  same  indi- 
vidual nature  or  essence  with  himself.  The  generation  of  the 
Son  must  needs  be  far  more  proper  than  any  temporal  genera- 
tion of  the  creature,  because  it  is  in  a  far  more  perfect  manner, 
and  the  identity  of  nature  is  most  perfect."* 

*  Wisheart's  Theologia.     Edinburgh,  1716,  pp.  753,  754. 


140  TJie  EloMm  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

The  considerations,  therefore,  which  follow  have  no  respect  to 
the  manner  of  the  divine  generation;  which  is  absolutely  unre- 
g4  Likeness  vealed  and  inscrutable;  but  are  strictly  limited  to 
in  this  respect.  ^he  fact  0f  ^  as  heretofore  defined.  In  this  respect, 
the  nature  of  Adam  was  evidently  designed  to  shadow  forth  that 
of  God.  That  such  was  the  intention  of  Adam's  parental  rela- 
tion to  the  race,  we  conclude,  from  several  considerations. 

1.  It  is  clearly  indicated,  in  the  fact,  that  the  relation  of  Adam 
to  his  posterity  is  designated  by  the  very  name  by  which  is  ex- 
pressed that  of  the  First  Person  to  his  only  begotten  Son;  and 
the  same  characteristics  and  functions  are  predicated  of  it.  Here, 
it  is  necessary  to  guard  against  an  idea  which  seems  to  be  com- 
monly entertained.  It  is  imagined,  that  the  parental  relation 
happened,  as  by  chance,  to  come  nearer  than  any  other  to  sug- 
gesting a  just  conception  of  the  relations  of  the  First  and  Second 
Persons  of  the  Trinity ;  and  that  it  was  therefore  adopted  as  a 
casual  symbol  of  those  relations.  But  the  manner  in  which  these 
titles,  and  the  corresponding  predicates,  are  applied  to  those 
Persons,  forbids  this  conception.  We  have  seen,  that  they  are 
not  casually  used,  in  common  with  other  designations ;  nor  is  the 
phraseology  ever  of  such  form  as  to  imply  a  figurative  use  of  the 
names.  But  the  name,  Father,  is  the  uniform  and  distinctive 
designation  of  the  First  Person,  in  his  relation  to  the  Second ; — 
that  of,  Son,  is  similarly  applied  to  the  Second,  in  his  relation  to 
the  First; — and  the  appropriated  expression  for  the  manner  of 
this  mutual  relation  is,  generation.  The  fact  that  God  has  given 
man  a  nature  to  which  these  same  terms  are  applied,  is  conclu- 
sive evidence,  that  man's  nature  was  in  this  respect  constructed 
as  it  is,  for  the  express  purpose  of  shedding  forth  the  likeness 
of  God.  To  invert  the  order,  and  suppose  that  the  names,  ex- 
pressive of  these  relations  in  the  divine  nature,  have  been  bor- 
rowed from  some  distant  resemblance,  casually  traceable  in  man, 
is  every  way  grossly  at  variance  with  just  conceptions  respect- 
ing God  and  our  relations  to  him.  In  particular,  is  it  an  entire 
oblivion  of  the  great  fundamental  fact,  that  the  very  office  to 
which  man  was  distinctively  set  apart,  was  the  exhibition  of 
God's  likeness.     The  whole  creation  being  intended  to  reveal  the 


sect,  iv.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  141 

glory  of  the  Creator,  man  was  formed  as  the  crown  of  that 
work; — embodying  in  his  person  an  epitome  of  it  all;  and  espe- 
cially designed  to  be  the  official  representative  and  likeness  of 
God  in  the  presence  of  all.  He  is  so  announced  in  his  creation, 
and  so  proclaimed  by  his  name.  In  his  knowledge,  righteous- 
ness and  holiness,  he  displays  features  essential  and  fundamental 
to  the  likeness,  but  possessed  by  him  in  common  with  myriads 
of  heavenly  intelligences ;  to  whom  he  is  announced  as  the  official 
likeness  of  God.  In  this  respect,  they  behold  in  him  a  pecu- 
liarity probably  seen  only  on  earth, — that  he  is  a  father  of  sons, 
with  whom  he  shares  in  a  common  nature,  which  constitutes 
between  them  an  identity,  real,  yet  in  perfect  harmony  with  a 
distinct  individual  personality.  To  man,  thus  constituted,  his 
Maker  gives  his  own  paternal  name;  and  to  his  offspring,  that 
of  his  own  eternal  Son;  and  designates  the  mode  of  the  relation, 
in  each  case,  by  the  same  name, —  generation.  Can  it  be  a 
question,  whether  the  heavenly  intelligences  who  behold  all 
this,  can  fail  to  recognise,  in  the  parental  relation  of  Adam,  a 
designed  representation  of  that  of  the  Holy  One? — a  represen- 
tation most  obscure  and  distant;  as  must  be  every  lineament 
of  every  creature,  which  is  compared  with  his  glory; — yet 
intended  to  serve  as  a  shadow,  in  the  veiled  light  of  which  the 
intelligent  creatures  might  study  and  learn  the  ineffable  lustre 
of  the  original : — "  the  absolute  oneness  of  the  race,  a  vast  image 
of  the  oneness  of  God  himself;  the  distinct  personal  existence 
of  each  member  of  the  race  as  a  separate  force,  and  yet  an  inse- 
parable portion  of  the  one  whole,  like  a  dim  shadow  of  the  divine 
personal  plurality ;  and  the  very  form  of  the  oneness,  and  the  plu- 
rality of  the  divine  existence  as  made  known  to  us,  the  idea  of 
eternal  paternity  of  eternal  filiation,  and  of  eternal  procession, 

exhibited  as  far  as  nature  could,  in  the  relations  of  this 

new  race, — fathers  and  sons,  in  an  endless  oneness  of  plurality, 
endlessly  united."* 

2.  The  Creator  has  invested  the  relation  of  parent  and  child 
with  a  peculiar  affection  and  tenderness,  of  a  warmth  and  purity 
which  has  no  counterpart.     To  this  affection,  thus  implanted  in 

*  Breckinridge's  Knowledge  of  God,  Objectively  Considered,  p.  452. 


142  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

our  very  nature  by  God,  he  makes  continual  appeal,  in  express- 
ing his  own  ineffable  love  to  his  own  Son.  "This  is  my  beloved 
Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased." — Matt.  iii.  17.  By  this  love 
of  the  parent  to  the  child,  we  are  taught  to  estimate  the  divine 
compassion  to  man;  since  "God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should 
not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." — John  iii.  16.  Of  the 
prominent  and  central  position  which  these  relations  occupy  in 
the  whole  scheme  of  God,  we  have  already  had  occasion  to  speak. 
And  the  same  argument,  then  applied,  to  establish  the  doctrine 
of  the  eternal  Sonship,  is  here  equally  appropriate.  Is  it  possible 
to  account  for  the  fact  here  suggested,  upon  any  other  supposi- 
tion, than  that  the  paternal  and  filial  relations  among  men  are 
an  adumbration  and  likeness  of  those  in  God? 

3.  Either  there  is  a  real  analogy,  however  distant,  between 
these  human  relations  and  those  in  the  divine  nature ;  or,  there 
is  not.  If  it  be  denied  that  there  is,  it  remains  with  those  who 
take  that  ground  to  account  for  the  style  of  the  Scriptures  on 
the  subject.  If  it  is  admitted  that  such  analogy  does  exist,  the 
alternative  is,  that  it  was  intentionally  enstamped  on  man,  in 
his  creation,  as  an  element  in  his  likeness  to  God ;  or,  that  it 
occurred  by  chance,  without  intention  on  the  part  of  the 
Creator;  and  the  illustration  of  the  divine  nature  thence  de- 
rived was  an  after-thought. 

4.  The  remarkable  argument  of  Paul,  respecting  the  decorum 
to  be  observed  in  the  public  worship  of  God,  is  directly  to  our 
purpose.  "  A  man  ought  not  to  cover  his  head,  forasmuch  as 
he  is  the  image  and  glory  of  God ;  but  the  woman  is  the  glory 
of  the  man.  For  the  man  is  not  of  the  woman,  but  the  woman 
of  the  man." — 1  Cor.  xi.  7,  8.  From  this  language,  it  is  evident 
that  the  image  in  which  man  was  created  involved  much  more 
than  that  moral  likeness  which  consisted  in  the  knowledge  of 
God,  righteousness  and  holiness.  Certainly,  no  one  will  pretend 
that  these  are  characteristic  of  man,  in  contrast  with  woman. 
The  Scriptures  give  us  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  highest 
attainments  in  the  moral  image  of  God  are  not  as  much  within 
her  reach  as  that  of  man.     The  history  of  the  world  seems  to 


sect,  iv.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  143 

show  that,  in  the  circumstances  which  surround  us  in  our  fallen 
estate, — and  it  is  that  of  which  Paul  speaks, — piety  is  more 
congenial  to  the  female  character  than  to  that  of  the  other  sex. 
In  fact,  the  language  of  the  apostle  is  unambiguous  in  pre- 
dicating the  image  of  which  he  speaks  upon  the  fact  that  the 
man  is  the  spring  and  efficient  cause  of  the  race : — "  He  is  the 
image  and  glory  of  God.  For  the  man  is  not  of  the  woman,  but 
the  woman  of  the  man." 

5.  The  design  of  man's  creation  was  to  constitute  him  an 
image  of  God,  with  specific  respect  to  his  triune  nature,  of  which 
the  eternal  generation  is  a  conspicuous  feature.  This  end  is 
announced  in  the  decree  for  his  creation : — "  Let  us  make  man 
in  our  image,  after  our  likeness;"  and  the  distinctive  relations 
of  the  Persons  of  the  Godhead  to  the  creation  of  this  crowning 
work  are  plainly  intimated  in  the  narrative.  "And  God  said, 
Let  us  make  man." — Gen.  i.  26.  "And  the  Lord  God  formed 
man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the 
breath  of  life." — Gen.  ii.  7.  Here  Elohim,  God  the  Father,  issues 
the  decree;  Jehovah  Elohim,  the  Son,  forms  man  of  the  dust; 
and  the  Spirit  gives  him  life,  as  we  have  already  shown. 

6.  Our  position  is  immovably  established  by  the  fact  that 
the  second  Adam  distinctly  asserts  the  relation  subsisting 
between  him  and  his  people  to  be  in  the  likeness  of  that  between 
the  Father  and  Son.  He  prays  "that  they  all  may  be  one;  as 
thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be 
one  in  us :  that  the  world  may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me. 
And  the  glory  which  thou  gavest  me,  I  have  given  them ;  that 
they  may  be  one,  even  as  we  are  one ;  I  in  them,  and  thou  in 
me,  that  they  may  be  made  perfect  in  one." — John  xvii.  21-23. 
The  doctrine  of  the  mystical  union  will  be  particularly  con- 
sidered hereafter.  That  the  relation  of  the  second  Adam  to  his 
people  is  parallel  to  that  of  the  first  Adam  to  the  race,  is  plainly 
taught  in  the  Scriptures.  The  bearing  of  this  language  of  our 
Saviour,  taken  in  connection  with  that  parallel,  upon  the  doctrine 
in  question,  will  be  apparent  to  the  reader. 

The  phenomena  of  generation  constitute  one  of  those  classes 
of  facts,  in  respect  to  the  works  and  ways  of  God,  the  familiarity 


144  Tlw  Elolrim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

of  which  blinds  us  to  their  amazing  character.  Because  we 
§  5.  Wonder-  see  ^  daily  exemplified,  it  does  not  strike  us  as  at  all 
fui  nature  of  strange  or  remarkable,  that  the  creatures  should,  by 
generation.  generation,  reproduce  themselves,  in  offspring  after 
their  own  likeness.  And  yet  it  is  one  of  the  most  wonderful 
and  inscrutable  displays  of  the  wisdom,  power  and  exhaustless 
resources  of  the  Creator,  probably  without  example  elsewhere  in 
the  creation  of  God,  and  explicable  upon  no  other  supposition 
than  that  it  subserves  the  grand  design  of  Adam's  whole  consti- 
tution, the  exhibition  of  an  image  of  God; — the  lower  creatures 
man's  likeness ;  he,  that  of  his  Maker.  To  attempt  to  search  out 
or  comprehend  the  essential  nature  of  the  process  of  generation 
were  absurd;  but  there  are  some  facts  respecting  it,  which  are 
self-evident,  and  which  it  is  of  importance  distinctly  to  mark. 
When  the  lower  animals  were  made,  God  said  to  them,  "  Be 
fruitful,  and  multiply;"  and  when  man  was  created,  he  was  ad- 
dressed in  similar  terms  : — "  Be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  re- 
plenish the  earth."  It  is  not  possible  to  explain  this  language 
otherwise,  than  as  announcing  the  communication  to  them  of  a 
generative  force,  the  cause  of  existence  to  their  offspring,  with- 
out further  exertion  of  creative  power.  The  correctness  of  this 
interpretation  will  scarcely  be  questioned;  its  verification  is 
continually  before  our  eyes.  In  respect  to  it,  the  alternative  is 
to  deny  causation  to  the  creatures  altogether,  and  embrace  the 
doctrine  that  God  is  the  efficient  and  immediate  cause  of  all 
effects.  But  what  does  the  doctrine  of  propagation,  here  stated, 
involve  ?  It  implies  that  all  the  powers  and  forces  which  are, 
or,  to  the  end  of  time,  shall  be,  in  the  living  creatures,  vege- 
table and  animal,  by  which  the  earth  is  filled  and  peopled,  have 
their  origin  in  those  creatures  which  were  made  at  the  beginning 
of  the  world,  and  were  implanted  in  them,  thus  to  be  developed 
and  perpetuated  in  their  seed  to  the  end  of  time.  It  is  not,  that 
the  powers  which  are  developed  in  the  offspring,  have  a  likeness, 
merely,  to  those  of  the  parent.  This  would  be,  to  attribute  the  whole 
matter  to  a  continual  exercise  of  creative  energy.  But  the  forces 
of  the  offspring  are  derived  by  propagation  from  the  parents. 
Those  very  forces  numerically  were  in  the  parents,  and  so,  back 


sect,  v.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  Qod.  145 

to  the  original  progenitors.  This  transmission  and  identity  of 
forces  is  readily  recognised  in  the  case  of  an  individual  parent  and 
his  offspring.  As  we  trace  the  germ,  gradually  expanding,  we 
have  no  difficulty  in  recognising  and  admitting  that  all  the  forces 
which  are  engaged  flow  from  the  parent ;  and  so,  until  the 
matured  embryo  is  separated  from  the  body  of  the  parent.  But, 
when  we  contemplate  the  amazing  extent  and  grandeur  of  the 
whole  result,  we  recoil.  And  yet  it  is  as  undeniable,  as  it  is  in- 
scrutable, that  the  entire  sum  of  forces  which  operate  in  the 
living  creation,  vegetable  and  animal,  were  created  and  im- 
planted in  the  primeval  creatures  at  the  beginning. 

In  an  able  dissertation  which  was  read  before  the  American 
Association,  in  1857,  by  Prof.  James  D.  Dana,  there  occurs  a 
lucid  exposition  of  some  of  the  most  important  principles  here 
involved.  To  the  question,  What  is  a  species  ?  this  writer  re- 
plies, "It  is  common  to  define  a  species  as  a  group,  comprising 
such  individuals  as  are  alike  in  fundamental  qualities ;  and  then, 
by  way  of  elucidation,  to  explain  what  is  meant  by  fundamental 
qualities.  But  the  idea  of  a  group  is  not  essential ;  and  more- 
over, it  tends  to  confuse  the  mind,  by  bringing  before  it  in  the 
outset,  the  endless  diversities  in  individuals,  and  suggesting 
numberless  questions,  that  vary  in  answer,  for  each  kingdom, 
class  or  subordinate  group.  It  is  better  to  approach  the  sub- 
ject from  a  profounder  point  of  view,  search  for  the  true  idea 
of  distinction  among  species,  and  then  proceeds,  onward,  to  a  con- 
sideration of  the  systems  of  variables. 

"  Let  us  look  first  to  inorganic  nature.  From  the  study  of  the 
inorganic  world,  we  learn  that  each  element  is  represented  by  a 
specific  amount  or  law  of  force ;  and  we  even  set  clown  in  numbers 
the  precise  value  of  this  force,  as  regards  one  of  the  deepest  of 
its  qualities, — chemical  attraction.  Taking  the  lightest  ele- 
ment as  a  unit  to  measure  others  by,  as  to  their  weights  in  com- 
bination, oxygen  stands  in  our  books  as  8 ;  and  it  is  precisely  of 
this  numerical  value  in  its  compounds.  Each  molecule  is  an  8, 
in  its  chemical  force  or  law,  or  some  simple  multiple  of  it.  In  the 
same  way,  there  is  a  specific  number  at  the  basis  of  other  quali- 
ties.    "Whenever,  then,  the  oxygen  amount  and  kind  of  force  was 

10 


146  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

concentered  in  a  molecule,  in  the  act  of  creation,  the  species, 
oxygen,  commenced  to  exist.  And  the  making  of  many  such 
molecules,  instead  of  one,  was  only  a  repetition,  in  each  molecule, 
of  the  idea  of  oxygen. 

"  In  combinations  of  the  elements,  as,  of  oxygen  and  hydro- 
gen, the  resultant  molecule  is  still  equivalent  to  a  fixed  amount, 
condition  or  law  of  chemical  force;  and  this  law,  which  we  ex- 
press in  numbers,  is  at  the  basis  of  our  notion  of  the  new 
species.  It  is  not,  necessarily,  a  different  amount  of  force ;  for 
it  may  be  simply  a  different  state  of  concentration,  or  different 
rate  or  law  of  action 

"  The  essential  idea  of  a  species,  thence  deduced,  is  this  : — A 
species  corresponds  to  a  specific  amount  or  condition  of  concen- 
tered force,  defined  in  the  act  or  law  of  creation. 

"Turn,  now,  to  the  organic  world.  The  individual  is  in- 
volved in  the  germ-cell,  from  which  it  proceeds.  That  cell  pos- 
sesses certain  inherent  qualities,  or  powers,  bearing  a  definite 
relation  to  external  nature;  so  that,  when  having  its  ap- 
propriate nidus  or  surrounding  conditions,  it  will  grow,  and  de- 
velop out  each  organ  and  member,  to  the  completed  result;  and 
this,  both  as  to  all  chemical  changes,  and  the  evolution  of  the 
structure,  which  belongs  to  it,  as  a  subordinate  to  some  king- 
dom, class,  order,  genus  and  species  in  nature.  The  germ-cell 
of  an  organic  being  develops  a  specific  result,  and,  like  the 
molecule  of  oxygen,  it  must  correspond  to  a  measured  quota,  or 
specific  law  of  force.  We  cannot  apply  the  measure,  as  in  the 
inorganic  kingdom ;  for  we  have  learned  no  method  or  unit  of 
comparison.  But  it  must,  nevertheless,  be  true,  that  a  specific 
predetermined  amount,  or  condition,  or  law,  of  force,  is  an 
equivalent  of  every  germ-cell  in  the  kingdoms  of  life.  I  do 
not  mean  to  say,  that  there  is  but  one  kind  of  force ;  but  that, 
whatever  the  kind  or  kinds,  it  has  a  numerical  value  or  law, 
although  human  arithmetic  may  never  give  it  expression. 

"  A  species  among  living  beings,  then,  as  well  as  inorganic, 
is  based  on  a  specific  amount  or  condition  of  concentered  force, 
defined  in  the  act  or  law  of  creation.  Any  one  species  has  its 
specific  value  or  law  of  force;  another,  its  value;  and  so,  for 


sect,  v.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  147 

all :  and  we  perceive  the  fundamental  notion  of  the  distinction 
between  species,  when  we  view  them  from  this  potential  stand- 
point. The  species,  in  any  particular  case,  began  its  existence 
when  the  first  germ-cell  or  individual  was  created ;  and,  if  seve- 
ral germ-cells  of  equivalent  force  were  created,  or  several  indi- 
viduals, each  was  but  a  repetition  of  the  other :  the  species  is  in 
the  potential  nature  of  the  individual,  whether  one  or  many  in- 
dividuals exist. 

"  Now,  in  organic  beings,  unlike  the  inorganic,  there  is  a 
cycle  of  progress,  involving  growth  and  decline.  The  oxygen 
molecule  may  be  eternal,  as  far  as  any  thing  in  its  nature  goes. 
But  the  germ-cell  is  but  an  incipient  state  in  a  cycle  of 
changes,  and  is  not  the  same  for  two  successive  instants ;  and 
this  cycle  is  such,  that  it  includes  in  its  flow,  a  reproduction, 
after  an  interval,  of  a  precise  equivalent  of  the  parent  germ- 
cell.  Thus,  an  indefinite  perpetuation  of  the  germ-cell  is,  in 
fact,  effected ;  yet  it  is  not  mere  endless  being,  but,  like 
evolving  like,  in  an  unlimited  round.  Hence,  when  individuals 
multiply  from  generation  to  generation,  it  is  but  a  repetition 
of  the  primordial  type-idea ;  and  the  true  notion  of  the  species 
is  not  in  the  resulting  group,  but  in  the  idea  or  potential  ele- 
ment, which  is  at  the  basis  of  every  individual  of  the  group  ; 
that  is,  the  specific  law  of  force,  alike  in  all,  upon  which  the 
power  of  each  as  an  existence  and  agent  in  nature  depends. 
Dr.  Morton  presented  nearly  the  same  idea,  when  he  described 
a  species  as,  '  a  primordial  organic  form.' 

"  Having  reached  this  idea,  as  the  starting-point  in  our  notion 
of  a  species,  we  must  still,  in  order  to  complete  and  perfect  our 
view,  consider  what  is  the  true  expression  of  this  potentiality. 
For  this  purpose,  we  should  have  again  in  mind,  that  a  living 
cell,  unlike  an  inorganic  molecule,  has  only  a  historical  exist- 
ence. The  species  is  not  the  adult  resultant  of  growth,  nor  the 
initial  germ-cell,  nor  its  condition  at  any  other  point :  it  com- 
prises the  whole  history  of  the  development.  Each  species  has 
its  own  special  mode  of  development,  as  well  as  ultimate  form 
or  result, — its  serial  unfolding,  in-working  and  out-flowing :  so 
that  the  precise  nature  of  the  potentiality  in  each  is  expressed 


148  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

by  the  line  of  historical  progress  from  the  germ  to  the  Ml  ex- 
pansion of  its  powers  and  the  realization  of  the  end  of  its  being. 
We  comprehend  the  type-idea,  only  when  we  understand  the 
cycle  of  evolution  through  all  its  laws  of  progress ;  both  as 
regards  the  living  structure  under  development  within,  and  its 
successive  relations  to  the  external  world." 

After  a  discussion  of  the  permanence,  and  the  variations,  of 
species,  Mr.  Dana  concludes  that  "  we  should  therefore  conceive 
of  the  system  of  nature  as  involving  in  its  idea  a  system  of 
units,  finite  constituents,  at  the  basis  of  all  things,  each  fixed 
in  law ;  these  units,  in  inorganic  nature,  as  adding  to  their  kinds 
by  combinations  in  definite  propositions ;  and  those  in  organic 
nature  adding  to  their  numbers  of  representative  individuals, 
but  not  kinds,  by  self-reproduction;  and  all,  adding  to  their 
varieties  by  mutual  reaction  or  sympathy.  Thus,  from  the  law 
within  and  the  law  without,  under  the  Being  above,  as  the  Author 
and  sustainer  of  all  law,  the  world  has  its  diversity,  the  cosmos 
its  fulness  of  beauty."* 

Implanted  in  the  creatures  at  the  beginning,  by  the  creative 
hand,  the  forces  thus  described  are  seen  operative  everywhere, 
filling  the  earth  with  life  and  activity,  and  exerting  a  generative 
power,  which,  although  occasional  and  transient  in  the  indi- 
vidual, is  unceasingly  active  and  perpetual  in  species  and  races. 
Thus  have  we,  in  the  investiture  of  Adam  with  the  whole  com- 
mon nature  of  man,  its  unfailing  energy  as  an  active  force,  and 
its  amazing  fecundity,  as  it  flows  from  generation  to  generation, 
through  all  the  myriads  of  the  human  family,  communicating 
distinct  personal  existence  and  part  in  the  one  common  nature 
to  each  individual  of  the  race  an  image,  inconceivably  grand,  of 
the  eternal  generation  in  the  divine  nature.  Of  that  generation, 
as  we  have  seen,  the  prophet  Micah  speaks  in  terms,  the  analogy 
of  which  to  these  facts  cannot  fail  to  strike  the  reader: — "His 
goings  forth  have  been  from  of  old,  from  everlasting." 
1 6.  Definition  The  word,  nature,  is  that  by  which  we  designate 
of  nature.  tne  permanent  forces,  which  were,  at  the  beginning, 

incorporated  in  the  constitution  of  Adam  and  the  creatures; 

*  American  Journal  of  Science  and  Art,  1857,  vol.  xxiv.  p.  305. 


sect,  v.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  149 

and  which,  by  their  severalty,  determine  and  define  the  seve- 
ral species  of  the  living  things.  The  word  is  sometimes  defined 
inaccurately,  as  the  name  of  a  mere  abstraction,  which  has  no 
real  existence; — as  the  designation  applied  to  our  conception  of 
the  mere  aggregate  of  characteristics  belonging  to  a  given  sub- 
stance. The  opinion  to  be  adopted  on  this  point  depends  upon 
that  which  we  accept  respecting  the  reality  of  the  existence  of 
the  objects  of  such  general  conceptions  as  those  expressed  by 
nature,  genera,  species,  &c.  On  this, — the  question  agitated 
between  the  Nominalists  and  Realists  of  the  mediceval  schools, 
— there  are  three  several  theories  embraced  by  different  classes 
of  philosophers.  According  to  the  first  of  these,  such  concep- 
tions are  the  mere  products  of  the  imaginative  faculty, — results 
of  logical  deduction  from  the  observation  of  many  like  individuals. 
A  second  theory  represents  universals  as  being  realities  which 
have  an  actual  objective  subsistence  of  their  own,  distinct  from 
and  independent  of  that  of  the  particulars  and  individuals.  A 
third  holds  that  universals  are,  in  a  certain  sense,  realities  in 
nature,  but  that  the  general  conceptions  are  merely  logical, — 
the  universals  not  having  an  existence  of  their  own  separate 
from  the  individuals  through  which  they  are  manifested. 
The  first  of  these  is  the  theory  of  a  certain  class  of  skeptical 
naturalists,  who  reject  the  whole  teachings  of  the  Scriptures 
on  the  subject.  The  second  would  seem  to  involve  the  idea  that 
each  several  species  is  endowed  with  a  diffusive  substance,  out 
of  which  the  individuals  of  the  species  derive  existence  and 
attributes,  in  which  they  live  and  move.  The  third  is  the 
scriptural  doctrine ;  according  to  which  the  substances  were  at 
the  beginning  endowed  with  forces,  which  are  distinctive  and 
abiding;  and  which,  in  organic  nature,  flow  distributively,  in 
continuous  order,  to  the  successive  generations  of  the  creatures. 
Of  these  forces,  the  word,  nature,  is  the  expression.  In  its 
proper  use,  it  conveys  the  distinct  idea  of  permanent  in-dwelling 
force.  It  expresses  the  sum  of  the  essential  qualities  or  efficient 
principles  of  a  given  thing,  viewed  in  their  relation  to  its  sub- 
stance, as  that  in  which  they  reside  and  from  whence  they  ope- 


150  Tlw  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

rate.  Such  is  the  sense  in  which  the  word  is  constantly  em- 
ployed in  the  Scriptures.  Thus, — Rom.  ii.  14,  15, — "  When  the 
Gentiles,  which  have  not  the  law,  do  by  nature  the  things  con- 
tained in  the  law,  these,  having  not  the  law,  are  a  law  unto 
themselves  :  which  show  the  work  of  the  law  written  in  their 
hearts,  their  conscience  also  bearing  witness."  Here,  the 
apostle,  by  the  word,  nature,  indicates  a  force  within,  which  he 
otherwise  calls  "  the  law  written  in  their  hearts,"  the  minister 
of  which  is  conscience,  testifying  against  sin  and  in  behalf  of 
holiness  and  God.  Again :  "  If  thou  wert  cut  out  of  the  olive-tree 
which  is  wild  by  nature,  and  wert  graffed  contrary  to  nature 
into  a  good  olive-tree,  how  much  more  shall  these,  which  be  the 
natural  branches,  be  graffed  into  their  own  olive-tree!" — Rom. 
xi.  24.  Here  the  idea  of  propagated  and  continuous  force  is 
conspicuous.  So  in  Eph.  ii.  3: — "Ye  were  by  nature  children  of 
wrath," — "nature,"  is  the  designation  of  a  force  which  Paul 
elsewhere  calls  "  the  law  of  sin  and  death,"  (Rom.  viii.  2,) 
which,  by  its  perverse  energy,  is  the  cause  of  transgression  and 
the  curse.  The  word  is  not,  therefore,  expressive  of  a  mere  ab- 
straction, but  designates  an  actual  thing,  an  objective  reality. 
Thus,  the  human  nature  consists  in  the  whole  sum  of  the  forces, 
which,  original  in  Adam,  are  perpetuated  and  flow  in  generation 
to  his  seed.  And  our  oneness  of  nature,  does  not  express  the 
fact,  merely,  that  we  and  Adam  are  alike;  but  that  we  are  thus 
alike,  because  the  forces  which  are  in  us  and  make  us  what  we 
are,  were  in  him,  and  are  numerically  the  same  which  in  him 
constituted  his  nature  and  gave  him  his  likeness.  The  body 
which  is  impelled  by  two  diverse  forces,  x  and  y,  moves  in  the 
direction  of  neither  of  them;  but  in  that  of  a  different  force,  z, 
the  resultant  of  the  two.  Yet  is  neither  of  the  forces  lost;  but 
merely  modified,  each  by  contact  with  the  other.  The  new 
force,  z,  is  simply  x,  modified  by  y.  So,  in  the  successive  gene- 
rations of  the  human  race,  so  far  as  their  traits  are  the  result 
of  propagation,  so  far  as  they  are  the  offspring  of  their  parents, 
theirs  are  but  the  same  identical  forces  which  were  in  those 
parents,  only  appearing  under  new  forms.  The  alternative  is, 
that  the  generation  of  creatures  is  a  creative  act;  that  the  rela- 


sect,  vi.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  151 

tion  between  parents  and  children  is  a  mere  fantasy,  the  former 
sustaining  no  causative  relation  to  the  latter.  The  word, 
nature,  is  used  in  the  sense  here  stated,  by  Augustine,  by 
Calvin,  and  generally  by  the  old  standard  writers. 

That  which  distinctively  outshadowed  the  Third  Person  of  the 
Trinity  in  Adam's  natural  constitution,  was,  the  breath  of  life, — 
3  7  Theireath  ^e  air,  a  fluid,  all-pervasive;  inscrutable  alike  in 
the  Spirit's  its  motions  and  influences;  sustaining  life,  and 
image.  essential  to  its  support,  in  all  its  forms,  in  all  the 

creatures  of  earth;  and  spirated  continually  from  the  bosom 
of  man.  That  this  fluid,  thus  related  to  man,  was  designed  to 
image  forth  the  Spirit,  proceeding  from  the  First  and  Second 
Persons,  is  demonstrated  by  arguments  substantially  the  same 
as  the  chief  of  those  respecting  Adam's  likeness  to  the  Father 
and  Son.  The  name  of  the  Spirit,  both  in  the  Hebrew  and 
Greek  Scriptures,  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  breath  of  man,  and 
the  air.  The  wind  is  frequently  employed  as  the  symbol  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  See  the  Song  of  Solomon,  iv.  16 ;  Ezekiel  xxxvii. 
9,  10,  14 ;  John  iii.  8.  Other  arguments  might  be  accumulated, 
were  it  necessary.  We  shall  only  add  one,  which  is  of  itself 
conclusive.  It  consists  in  the  unambiguous  testimony  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  After  his  resurrection,  he,  on  one  occasion, 
came  among  his  assembled  disciples  with  the  salutation,  "Peace 
be  unto  you :  as  my  Father  hath  sent  me,  even  so  send  I  you. 
And  when  he  had  said  this,  he  breathed  on  them,  and  saith  unto 
them,  Keceive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost." — John  xx.  21,  22.  With  this, 
compare  the  narrative  in  Acts  ii.  2, 4 : — "And  suddenly  there  came 
a  sound  from  heaven,  as  of  a  rushing  mighty  wind,  and  it  filled 

all  the  house  where  they  were  sitting And  they  were  all 

filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  On  the  meaning  of  this  remark- 
able action  of  the  second  Adam,  and  of  the  account  of  the 
pentecostal  baptism,  as  bearing  upon  the  present  question,  it  is 
unnecessary  to  insist. 

Of  the  doctrinal  relations  of  the  features  of  God's  image  in 
Adam's  nature,  thus  enumerated,  some  things  will  appear  in  the 
course  of  the  following  discussions.  Doubtless,  much,  on  these, 
as  on  all  other  points,  is  reserved  for  the  revelations  of  heaven. 


152  Tlie  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

Some  of  the  natural  attributes  of  Adam's  soul  were  elements 
of  the  divine  likeness;  as,  that  it  was  an  immaterial  substance, 
a  8  Natural  ^e  tne  Father  of  spirits,  in  having  neither  mem- 
attributes  of  bers,  parts  nor  form;  and  that  it  was  a  living  and 
the  soul.  immortal  spirit.     Not  that  it  was  endowed  with  an 

existence  necessarily  eternal.  This  is  an  incommunicable  attri- 
bute of  the  everlasting  God.  It  is  indeed  a  common  error,  to 
assume  immortality  to  be  an  essential  and  inseparable  attribute 
of  spiritual  existence.  But  that  is,  to  make  the  soul  independent 
of  Him  who  "upholdeth  all  things  by  the  word  of  his  power," — 
Heb.  i.  3;  "by  whom  all  things  consist." — Col.  i.  17.  The  im- 
mortality of  the  soul  consists  in  its  endowment  with  a  life,  which 
the  declared  and  unchangeable  will  of  the  Creator  assures  of  per- 
petuity, under  his  upholding  power; — a  perpetuity  which  he 
could  as  easily  confer  upon  matter,  and  withhold  from  spirits, 
were  such  his  pleasure.  In  this,  as  in  all  things  else,  the  first 
Adam  exhibits  a  signal  inferiority  to  the  second.  Whilst,  in  the 
one,  life  was  a  dependence  on  God,  in  whom  he  lived,  (Acts  xvii. 
28,)  to  the  other,  it  is  "given  to  have  life  in  himself." — John 
v.  26.  In  the  former,  immortality  was  possessed  as  a  gift  flow- 
ing perpetually  from  the  upholding  power  of  his  Maker.  Of  the 
second  Adam,  the  apostle  adoringly  cries,  "Who  only  hath  im- 
mortality, dwelling  in  the  light  which  no  man  can  approach 
unto." — 1  Tim.  vi.  16.  Whilst  Christ  is  "the  brightness  of  the 
Father's  glory,  and  the  express  image  of  his  person," — Heb.  i.  3, 
— Adam  was  a  perfect  but  faint  reflection  of  that  glory  and  sem- 
blance of  God's  image. 

„    ,  Adam  was  made  in  the  image  of  God,  in  a  moral 

g  9.  Moral  .      .  .  .  &  ' 

powers.   Rea-    likeness;  consisting  in  his  endowment  with  moral 
eon  and  con-    agency,   knowledge,   righteousness    and    holiness; 
and  in  his  position,  crowned  with  glory,  honour  and 
dominion  over  the  creatures. 

He  was  a  moral  agent.  This  involves  the  possession  of 
the  attributes  of  reason,  conscience  and  will.  The  office  of 
reason  was,  to  discriminate  among  actions  and  things,  one 
from  another,  the  true  from  the  false; — to  recognise  and  trace 
the   relation   of  cause    and  effect; — to   study  the   phenomena 


sect.  viii.  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  153 

of  nature;  searcning  out,  combining  and  classifying  their  several 
processes  and  results,  ascertaining  their  laws,  and  subordinating 
them  to  his  service; — and,  at  the  same  time,  to  ascend  through 
them  to  the  recognition  of  a  Great  First  Intelligent  Cause ; — the 
uncaused  Author  of  all  existence. 

Adam  was  endowed  with  a  conscience,  or  moral  sense.  The 
primary  function  of  this  attribute  of  his  moral  nature  was  the 
perception  of  the  loveliness,  the  moral  beauty  and  glory,  of 
the  divine  character.  As  he  was  enabled  to  perceive  the  light, 
by  the  sense  of  vision,  sounds  by  that  of  hearing,  and  other 
phenomena  of  nature  by  the  other  bodily  senses;  so  was  he 
enabled  to  perceive  moral  distinctions — the  beauty  of  holiness, 
and  the  deformity  of  its  opposite — by  that  moral  faculty,  which 
has  been  therefore  designated,  the  moral  sense.  It  is  to  be  care- 
fully noticed,  that  the  character  thus'  perceived  by  conscience, 
as  belonging  to  moral  dispositions  and  actions,  is  altogether  dis- 
tinct from  the  sense  of  obligation  to  imitate  the  holy.  In  the 
order  of  nature,  the  distinction  which  is  perceived  by  the  moral 
sense,  the  beauty  which  is  seen  in  holiness,  is  both  independent 
of,  and  prior  to,  the  existence  of  the  obligation.  The  former  is 
a  characteristic  of  the  nature  of  God.  The  latter  is  created  by 
his  sovereign  will.  The  former  is  designed  to  enable  the  crea- 
tures to  share  in  the  blessedness  of  God,  by  appreciating  those 
ineffable  perfections,  in  which,  and  the  contemplation  of  them, 
God's  glory  and  blessedness  consist.  The  other  is  designed  for 
the  further  advancement  of  the  creatures  in  happiness,  and  their 
endowment  with  honour,  by  the  imitation  of  those  perfections; 
thus  enjoying  them  for  themselves,  and  reflecting  them  on  each 
other.  In  both,  the  final  end  is  the  glory  of  God, — revealed  to 
the  creatures,  blessing  them,  and  the  occasion  to  them  of  ad- 
miration, happiness  and  praise.  The  second  function  of  con- 
science was  the  recognition  of  the  duty,  imposed  by  the  will  of 
God,  to  imitate  t]ie  perfections  of  his  nature  which  were  thus 
discovered.  In  the  light  of  this  obligation,  holiness  is  called, 
right;  as  being  conformity  to  the  rule  or  standard  of  duty, — 
the  holiness  of  God;  and  unholiness  or  sin  is  designated,  wrong; 
as  being  deflection  from  that  rule.     The  ultimate  principles  to 


154  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

which  all  the  apprehensions  and  decisions  of  conscience  are  redu- 
cible are  two.  The  first  is,  that  the  moral  nature  and  attributes 
of  God  are  infinitely  lovely,  and  worthy  to  be  admired  of  all 
creatures.  The  second  is,  that,  thus  lovely  in  God,  and  revealed 
to  us,  they  are  entitled  to  our  zealous  and  constant  imitation; — 
an  imitation,  to  which  we  are  bound,  not  only  by  virtue  of  their 
intrinsic  excellence,  but,  especially  and  authoritatively,  by  the 
will  of  God,  our  maker  and  sovereign.  Of  the  authority  of 
God,  thus  requiring  us  to  imitate  his  perfections,  conscience  is 
the  witness.  In  respect  to  the  obligation  resting  on  the  crea- 
tures, its  appeal  is  to  the  sovereign  will  of  God,  as  the  ultimate 
law,  entitled  to  our  highest  reverence  and  implicit  obedience. 
As  to  the  propriety  and  beauty  of  the  things  thus  enjoined,  it 
points  to  the  very  nature  of  God,  as  infinitely  excellent,  in  and 
of  itself;  and  the  ultimate  standard  of  comparison,  by  which  all 
moral  excellence  is  to  be  determined.  Thus,  therefore,  the  single 
rule  of  righteousness,  as  attested  by  conscience  and  enforced 
upon  men,  is, — that  God  has  a  right  to  command,  and  the  creatures 
are  bound,  universally  and  implicitly,  to  obey.  Of  this,  the  ulti- 
mate rule  of  morals,  and  of  the  principle  whence  it  springs,  we 
shall  take  further  notice  in  another  place. 

It  may  be  thought  a  fatal  objection  to  our  view,  that,  in  the 
case  of  infants,  conscience  clearly  indicates  its  presence,  before 
it  is  possible  that  the  mind  should  have  grasped  the  idea  of  the 
existence  of  God.  We  might  insist  that  there  is  no  propriety 
in  reasoning  from  phenomena  which  are  characteristic  of  unde- 
veloped faculties,  in  a  fallen  state.  By  the  fall  man  has  lost,  in 
a  great  measure,  that  moral  sense  which  apprehends  the  beauty 
of  holiness.  The  principal  function  of  conscience,  as  it  remains 
in  the  unrenewed  children  of  our  apostate  race,  is,  to  attest  the 
authority  of  God's  law;  rather  than,  to  apprehend  the  beauty 
of  his  holiness.  Viewing  the  subject  in  this  light,  the  objection 
here  stated  involves  no  difficulty.  The  matter  does  not  depend 
upon  the  recognition  of  the  conventional  terms  and  names  by 
which  God  is  designated  in  our  theology.  Were  that  the  case, 
the  objection  would  apply,  as  fully,  in  respect  to  the  entire 
heathen  world,  as  to  the  case  of  infants.     But,  in  reference  to 


sect,  ix.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  155 

the  present  point,  the  essential  conception  involved  in  the  idea 
of  God,  is  that  of  infinite  excellence  and  supreme  authority. 
With  this,  is  associated  the  corresponding  sense  of  obligation; 
that  is,  of  the  duty  of  obedience.  To  talk  of  the  action  of  con- 
science, where  these  apprehensions  are  not  present,  would  be  a 
contradiction  in  terms.  In  the  earliest  period  of  infant  moral 
agency,  the  parent  is  the  impersonation  of  that  supremacy, 
which  is  thus  intuitively  felt  to  exist.  As  the  powers  expand, 
the  finitude  of  the  parent  is  gradually  discovered,  and  the  con- 
ception of  the  Supreme  is  borne  upward  to  the  infinite  One,  who 
sits  in  the  heavens;  or  else  takes  refuge  from  his  glorious  ex- 
cellence in  some  form  of  idolatry, — in  the  service  of  a  false  god, 
either  imaginary  or  embodied. 

The  view  here  presented  affords  a  ready  solution  of  the  diffi- 
culty which  arises  from  the  manner  in  which,  in  our  fallen  estate, 
the  decisions  of  conscience  are  found  to  clash.  The  clearness  of 
the  moral  sense  has  been  so  obscured,  its  light  so  darkened,  by 
the  corrupting  power  of  sin,  that  it  is  no  longer  capable  of  ap- 
preciating the  beauty  of  holiness,  or  distinguishing  with  any 
clearness  or  certainty,  as  to  moral  phenomena,  the  good  from  the 
evil.  Whilst,  however,  conscience  is  thus  lost  to  its  highest 
honours  and  noblest  function,  it  still  retains  the  indelible  impress 
of  the  rightful  sovereignty  of  God.  Its  decisions  are  always 
consistent,  on  the  question  whether  God  ought  to  be  obeyed. 
The  only  diversity  is  in  respect  to  what  he  has  commanded. 
Once  settle  this  point, — and,  however  the  apostate  nature  of  man 
may  rebel,  the  answer  of  conscience  is  unequivocal.  The  chal- 
lenge of  the  apostles  to  the  rulers  of  Israel  will  find  a  true  re- 
sponse in  the  heart  of  the  most  reprobate  : — "  Whether  it  be 
right  in  the  sight  of  God  to  hearken  unto  you  more  than  unto 
God,  judge  ye." — Acts  iv.  19. 

In  Adam,  the  dictates  of  conscience  were  infallible.  The  law 
of  God  was  written  thereon.  That  such  was  the  case,  appears 
from  the  terms  in  which  Paul  speaks  of  its  traces  still  visible 
among  the  heathen  world : — "  For  when  the  Gentiles,  which  have 
not  the  law,  do  by  nature  the  things  contained  in  the  law,  these, 
having  not  the  law,  are  a  law  unto  themselves :  which  show  the 


156  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

work  of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts,  their  conscience  also 
bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts  the  meanwhile  accusing  or 
else  excusing  one  another." — Rom.  ii.  14,  15.  When  was  this 
law  inscribed  on  the  hearts  of  the  gentile  world,  unless,  in  the 
creation  of  man?  This  is  further  evinced,  by  the  terms  in 
which  God,  through  Jeremiah,  promises  to  restore  his  chosen 
people  from  the  ruin  of  the  fall,  and  the  condemnation  of  a 
broken  covenant: — "This  is  the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with 
the  house  of  Israel :  after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  put 
my  laws  in  their  inward  parts,  and  write  them  in  their  hearts." — 
Jer.  xxxi.  33.  When  the  ten  commandments  were  given  from 
Mount  Sinai,  they  were  at  first  engraven  by  the  finger  of  God  on 
tablets  of  stone;  and,  these  being  broken  by  Moses,  upon  occa- 
sion of  Israel's  idolatry  with  the  golden  calf,  the  law  was  again 
written  on  stone,  by  the  hand  of  a  mediator,  Moses,  (Gal.  iii.  19,) 
under  the  direction  of  God.  (Ex.  xxxiv.  27,  28.)  In  these  trans- 
actions, were  typified,  the  original  inscription  on  the  heart  of 
man  in  his  creation,  his  transgression  and  breach  of  it,  and  the 
divine  purpose  to  restore  it  again,  by  the  agency  of  that  great 
Prophet,  like  unto  Moses,  (Deut.  xviii.  15-19,)  whom  God  de- 
signed to  raise  up ;  and  of  whose  mission  and  work  the  prophet 
Jeremiah  speaks  in  the  above-cited  passage. 

In  fact,  we  must  either  admit  that  the  law  was  inscribed  in 
the  heart  of  man,  in  his  creation,  or  accept  the  alternative,  that 
he  is  forever  independent  of  every  law,  and  free  to  follow  the 
irresponsible  determinations  of  his  own  will.  If,  for  one  instant, 
he  existed  without  law,  he  possessed,  for  that  instant,  sole  and 
irresponsible  sovereignty  over  himself, — an  independence  of  all 
superior  control.  How,  then,  could  the  true  and  righteous  God 
assume  towards  him  an  attitude  of  authority,  which,  by  the  terms 
of  the  statement,  did  not  exist  ?  If  man  was  not,  already,  by  the 
necessity  of  his  being,  under  the  law  of  God,  there  could  be  no 
room  for  God's  dealing  with  him  in  the  terms  of  authority,  by 
which  he  imposed  upon  him  conditions  of  life  and  a  penalty  of 
death,  in  that  transaction,  subsequent  to  his  creation,  which  re- 
spected the  tree  of  knowledge.  In  other  words,  if  man  was  not, 
in  his  very  creation,  subjected  to  the  law  of  God,  his  original, 


sect,  ix.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  157 

native  and  essential  attitude  is  that  of  perfect,  unconditional 
and  inalienable  liberty.  Enthroned  in  supremacy  over  his  own 
being  and  actions, — he  is  a  god;  and  Jehovah,  by  the  act  of 
creating  him,  broke  the  pillars  of  his  own  throne,  and  set  an 
impassable  bound  to  his  own  empire.  No  longer  supreme  and 
alone,  he  shares  dominion  with  man ! 

The  reader  may,  at  the  first  glance,  think  these  conclusions 
unwarranted  by  the  premises ;  and  suppose,  that  even  although 
it  be  assumed  that,  in  the  first  hours  of  Adam's  existence,  he  was 
subject  to  no  law,  yet,  as  a  creature,  he  was  bound  to  obey  his 
Creator's  will,  as  soon  as  it  was  ascertained.  Let  us  allow  for  a 
moment  the  correctness  of  this  reasoning,  and  see  what  it  in- 
volves. Adam  has  remained  for  a  season  in  the  supposed  state 
of  unlimited  independence.  But  now  his  Creator  draws  near, 
and  announces  to  him  a  law,  which  is  to  govern  his  whole  being, 
and  control  all  his  actions ;  and  we  have  agreed,  that,  by  virtue 
of  his  creature  relation  to  God,  he  is  under  obligation  at  once  to 
bow  in  obedience  to  the  law  thus  revealed.  But  does  Adam  dis- 
cover in  himself  a  consciousness  of  this  native  obligation  to  obey 
God?  Does  he  by  nature  know  God,  as  his  Creator;  and  his 
own  relations  to  him,  as  a  creature  and  a  subject?  If  he  does 
not,  the  obligation,  which  is  supposed  to  rest  upon  him,  must  be 
altogether  nugatory.  It  can  neither  enforce  obedience,  nor  con- 
demn transgression.  For  a  knowledge  of  the  lawgiver,  and  of 
the  relations  upon  which  the  duty  of  obedience  depends,  is  essen- 
tial, as  the  first  element  in  any  obligation  binding  the  actions  of 
an  intelligent  agent.  On  the  other  hand,  it  being  admitted,  as 
necessarily  it  must,  that  a  consciousness  of  these  things  was 
natively  in  Adam,  constituting  the  basis  upon  which  rested  the 
authority  of  God's  subsequent  requirements,  this  admission 
carries  with  it  a  negation  of  the  possibility  of  Adam  having  been 
left  for  an  instant  to  freedom  from  law.  As  a  creature,  he  recog- 
nises an  obligation  resting  upon  him;  which,  being  founded  in 
his  creature  relation,  is  parallel  with  his  existence,  mature 
with  the  first  pulsation  of  life  within  him ; — an  obligation  to  con- 
form to  the  law  of  God,  as  soon  as  revealed.  But  what  is  this; 
if  it  be  not  the  very  law  itself?     In  what  more  comprehensive 


158  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

and  specific  terms  can  the  moral  law  be  stated,  than  that  it  re- 
quires supreme  reverence  and  obedience  to  God?  This  compre- 
hends, in  terms,  the  first  table  of  the  decalogue,  and  involves  the 
second.  If  it  be  a  duty  to  reverence  and  obey  God,  then  it  is 
also  a  duty  to  love  our  fellow-creatures,  and  respect  their  rights 
and  happiness;  as  they  are  God's  creatures,  and  possess  those 
rights  and  that  happiness  by  his  gift. 

But  this  is  only  a  partial  view  of  the  case.  Whilst  conscience 
attested  the  duty  of  obedience  to  God,  the  particular  form  in  which 
the  divine  authority  was  asserted  to  and  by  it,  was  that  of  the 
requirement  to  imitate  the  divine  perfections,  which  were  per- 
ceived by  the  moral  sense.  And  since  God's  nature  is  love,  and 
all  his  dealings  proclaim  this  perfection  as  that  which  is  espe- 
cially set  forth  for  the  imitation  of  the  creatures,  the  whole  duty 
of  man  was  thus  set  before  him,  in  terms  readily  applicable  to 
all  the  relations  of  life,  whether  to  God  or  the  creatures.  Thus, 
it  was  the  one  and  exalted  office  of  conscience  to  proclaim  and 
honour  the  holiness  and  sovereignty,  and  enforce  the  law,  of 
God.  With  wakeful  vigilance  its  approving  smile  greeted  every 
act  of  holy  obedience.  Its  stern  and  uncompromising  frown 
awaited  and  condemned  the  first  deed  of  transgression,  the  first 
thought  of  sin. 

The  other  element  in  Adam's  moral  nature,  was  his  will.  The 
faculties  already  described — the  reason,  and  conscience — were 
designed  to  give  him  cognizance  of  things  as  they  are. 
But  the  knowledge  thus  imparted  was  to  the  end,  that 
he  should  occupy  becoming  relations  to  the  things  thus  known. 
The  recognition  and  embrace  of  these  relations  is  the  office  of, 
the  will.  The  word,  will,  is  sometimes  used  to  designate  the  act 
of  volition;  and  sometimes,  the  power  that  wills.  It  is  in  the 
latter  sense  that  we  here  employ  it.  Its  phenomena  take  their 
rise  in  the  relations,  congenial  or  the  reverse,  between  man's 
powers  and  external  things ; — relations  with  which,  in  his  crea- 
tion, Adam  was  clothed.  Thus,  for  example,  his  nature  was 
characterized  by  an  aptitude  for  certain  classes  of  physical  sen- 
sations, which,  when  they  occur,  are  therefore  embraced  with  an 
appetency,  which  we  recognise  by  the  designation,  pleasurable. 


sect,  ix.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  159 

Others,  on  the  contrary,  on  account  of  their  uncongeniality  to 
the  nature,  occasion  necessary  and  involuntary  repugnance,  and 
are  stigmatized  as  disagreeable  or  painful.  Adam's  soul,  itself 
holy,  found,  in  holiness  and  the  Holy  One,  a  correspondence  with 
his  own  moral  nature,  which  induced  the  going  forth  to  them  of 
his  affections,  in  emotions  of  desire  and  love.  To  his  nature, 
thus  attuned  to  harmony  with  that  of  God,  sin  appeared  in  its 
true  aspect  of  utter  loathsomeness,  inducing  necessary  rejection 
and  disgust.  The  relations  of  affinity  and  disagreement,  thus  ex- 
emplified, were  impressed  on  Adam's  nature,  when  he  was  made ; 
and  all  his  faculties  and  powers,  were  placed  in  normal  attitude, 
in  respect  to  the  various  objects  of  these  relations.  These  com- 
prehended all  departments  of  the  creation,  and  all  spheres  of 
being,  relation  and  action, — physical,  intellectual  and  moral; — 
all  things  towards  which  he  was  designed  by  his  Creator  to  sus- 
tain any  kind  of  active  relation.  The  multitude  of  appetites 
and  affections,  which  belong  to  man's  nature,  are  these  affinities, 
realized  to  the  consciousness.  The  will  is  the  soul  viewed  as  a 
cause,  acting  under  their  control  and  guidance. 

What  is  here  said,  in  respect  to  the  relations  out  of  which  the 
phenomena  of  the  will  originate,  is  implied  in  man's  investiture 
with  powers.  A  power  which  should  have  no  appropriate  object, 
— an  energy  which  should  have  no  sphere  assigned  for  its  normal 
action,  no  proportionate  end  to  be  accomplished  by  it, — would 
be  an  absurdity,  such  as  can  have  no  place  in  the  works  of  that 
only  wise  God,  who  has  made  nothing  in  vain.  Thus,  the  af- 
fection of  love  has  appropriate  action  toward  the  attributes  and 
persons  of  the  blessed  Trinity; — hatred,  toward  sin  and  Satan; 
and  so,  of  each  attribute  and  power  of  body  and  soul.  The  at- 
titude of  these  powers  may  be  normal,  or  the  reverse.  The  ap- 
petencies or  affinities  may  be  in  such  an  order  and  direction,  as 
to  fulfil  the  end  for  which  they  were  given;  or,  on  the  contrary, 
in  such,  as  directly  to  oppose  that  end.  The  attitude  of  the  soul 
may  be  such  as,  spontaneously  and  with  unfailing  certainty,  to 
act  love  supreme  toward  God.  Or  it  may  be  such,  that  this  af- 
fection shall  flow  in  the  opposite  direction;  and,  instead  thereof, 
the  blessed  One  be  visited  with  spontaneous  hate.     But,  what- 


160  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

ever  be  the  attitude  of  these  powers  of  man's  nature,  his  actions 
universally  originate  in,  and  are,  in  every  respect,  determined 
by,  them.  Hence  it  is  evident,  that,  as  these  are,  so  must 
his  will  and  his  actions  be.  His  actions  are  the  effects  of  his 
will, — the  exponents  of  his  nature.  The  will  is  the  soul,  dis- 
posed to  the  active  embrace  of  the  affinities  which  it  realizes. 
It  is  the  nature,  viewed  in  the  light  of  its  tendency  to  give  ex- 
pression to  the  aptitudes  which  it  intuitively  feels. 

In  discussions  respecting  the  will,  a  great  deal  is  usually  said, 
about  the  influence  of  motives,  in  determining  its  action.  Ed- 
gn.  Nature  wards  has  much  on  this  point;  but  entirely  fails  to 
of  motives.  bring  out  the  fundamental  fact,  that,  at  last,  it  is 
the  soul  itself  which  endows  the  motive  with  the  character  in 
which  it  appears; — that  it  is  the  nature  of  the  soul  which  in- 
duces it  to  look  upon  this  object  with  a  complacency  or  repug- 
nance, which  gives  it  the  position  of  a  motive ;  whilst  it  regards 
another  with  indifference.  So,  it  is  declared  by  the  apostle,  with 
respect  to  temptations  to  sin : — "  Every  man  is  tempted,  when  he 
is  drawn  away  of  his  own  lust  and  enticed.  Then,  when  lust  hath 
conceived,  it  bringeth  forth  sin." — James  i.  14, 15.  To  the  same 
effect  is  the  testimony  of  our  Saviour : — "  Out  of  the  heart  proceed 
evil  thoughts,  murders,  adulteries,  fornications,  thefts,  false  wit- 
ness, blasphemies." — Matt.  xv.  19.  When  the  covetous  desires 
his  neighbour's  goods,  it  is  not  the  coveted  object  that  creates 
the  criminal  wish;  but  the  corrupt  heart.  The  principle  of 
action  is  the  heart  of  the  agent.  The  nature  of  the  transgressor 
is  the  cause  of  his  sins ;  and  those  external  things  which  are  de- 
signated as  motives  are  merely  the  objects,  in  view  of  which 
the  perverted  nature  finds  occasion  to  reveal  itself,  as  it  is, — cor- 
rupt. It  is  not  the  unhallowed  suggestion  that  imparts  the  im- 
pulse to  the  soul,  and  impels  the  will;  but  the  soul  of  the  corrupt 
finds  the  suggestion  of  sin  congenial  to  its  own  instincts,  and 
therefore  embraces  it. 

Not  only  does  Edwards  ignore  this  principle, — he  assumes 
ground  altogether  inconsistent  with  it.  He  scouts  at  the  as- 
sertion that  "  motives  and  excitements  to  the  action  of  the  will 
are  the  passive  ground  or  reason  of  that  action;  .  .  .  which,"  says 


sect,  x.]  Adam  tlte  Likeness  of  God.  161 

he,  "is  a  remarkable  phrase;  than  which,  I  presume,  there  is  none 
more  unintelligible  and  void  of  distinct  and  consistent  meaning 
in  all  the  writings  of  Duns  Scotus  or  Thomas  Aquinas."*  He 
assumes  the  only  alternative  to  lie  between  the  Arminian  self-de- 
termining power,  and  the  efficient  influence  of  motives,  acting 
as  external  forces,  controlling  the  will.  So  far  as  we  can  dis- 
cover, Edwards  does  not  anywhere  recognise  the  distinctive 
nature  of  the  soul  as  an  efficient  cause  of  the  choices  of  the 
will.  He  assumes  the  existence  of  but  two  possible  causes,  to  one 
or  other  of  which  all  acts  of  the  will  are  to  be  referred. 
Either,  according  to  him,  they  are  caused  by  the  efficiency  of 
external  motives,  impelling  the  will  to  action ;  or,  they  are  pro- 
duced by  a  preceding  act  of  the  will  or  choice, — the  latter  view 
involving  the  absurdity  of  a  series  of  volitions  without  begin- 
ning. In  this  failure  of  Edwards  to  recognise  the  nature  of 
the  soul  as  itself  the  cause  of  its  volitions,  we  have  the  occa- 
sion of  the  harsh  and  necessarian  character  of  his  philosophy, 
which  is  so  inconsistent  with  the  teachings  of  consciousness,  and 
the  tendency  of  which  is  so  evidently  antinomian  and  fatalistic. 
The  immediate  and  inevitable  effect  of  any  system  which  locates 
the  cause  of  volition  or  choice  elsewhere  than  in  the  moral 
nature  of  the  agent,  is,  to  abrogate  the  law,  and  terminate  re- 
sponsibility. It  is  because  volitions  and  actions  flow  from 
within,  with  entire  independence  of  any  external  force,  that 
men  are  held  responsible  at  the  bar  of  God. 

On  this  subject  we  appropriate  the  argument  of  the  venerated 
Alexander  : — "  The  whole  force  which  governs  man  is  within  and 
proceeds  from  himself.  External  objects  are  in  themselves 
inert.  They  exert  no  influence;  no  power  emanates  from  them. 
The  only  power  and  influence  which  they  can  possibly  have  over 
any  man,  they  derive  from  the  active  principles  of  his  nature. 
We  are,  indeed,  accustomed  in  popular  language  to  say,  that  ex- 
ternal objects  excite  and  inflame  the  mind;  but  in  philosophical 
accuracy  they  are  but  the  passive  objects  on  which  the  affections 
and  desires  of  the  mind  fasten ;  and  their  whole  power  of  moving 
to  action  depends  upon  the  strength  of  the  inward  affections 

*  Edwards  on  the  Will,  part  ii.  \  10. 
11 


162  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

of  the  soul.    To  render  this  perfectly  plain  to  every  mind,  it  will 
only  be  necessary  to  attend  to  a  few  familiar  illustrations. 

"To  a  man  who  is  under  the  influence  of  hunger  or  thirst, 
bread  and  water  are  said,  when  seen,  greatly  to  excite  him ;  so 
that  he  is  strongly  impelled  to  appropriate  these  objects  to  the 
craving  wants  of  his  nature.  But  every  one  sees  at  once  that 
both  the  bread  and  the  water  are  merely  passive  objects  on 
which  the  appetite  fixes.  The  real  force  which  impels  to  action, 
is  not,  therefore,  the  external  object,  but  the  inward  desire  which 
is  in  the  soul  itself.  For,  where  no  appetite  of  hunger  or  thirst 
exists,  the  bread  and  water,  however  presented  and  urged  upon  the 
sense,  produce  no  effect ;  there  is  no  motive  to  action  experienced. 
Take  another  case.  A  man  comes  into  a  room  where  lies  a  pile 
of  gold.  Avarice  urges  him  to  seize  the  beloved  object  and  ap- 
propriate it  to  himself.  Two  desires,  or  motives,  counteract  the 
tendency  of  avarice :  one  is,  a  sense  of  duty,  or  regard  to  the 
dictate  of  conscience,  which  he  knows  ought  to  be  obeyed ;  the 
other  is,  regard  to  reputation,  or  the  good  opinion  of  men. 
Between  these  two  antagonistical  principles  there  must,  of 
course,  be  a  conflict.  If  avarice  be  strong  and  the  power  of 
conscience  and  desire  of  the  good  opinion  of  men  be  com- 
paratively weak,  the  consequence  will  be  that  the  man  will 
put  forth  his  hand  and  take  the  gold ;  and  at  the  same  time  will 
feel  conscious  that  he  is  doing  wrong.  But  if  conscience  be 
fully  awake,  and  especially  if  a  love  of  moral  excellence  and  a 
hatred  of  iniquity  have  a  place  in  his  mind,  this  motive  alone 
will  be  sufficient  to  induce  him  to  reject  at  once  the  thought  of 
appropriating  what  belongs  to  another.  In  this  case,  it  is 
evident  that  the  gold  on  the  table  is  altogether  passive :  there 
is  no  secret  emanation  from  the  inert  metal.  The  whole  power 
of  gold  to  seduce  the  mind  to  evil  depends  on  the  strength 
of  the  principle  of  avarice  within  ;  and,  in  a  mind  rightly  con- 
stituted, or  under  the  influence  of  good  moral  dispositions,  it 
could  never  so  prevail  as  to  induce  the  person  to  do  an  unlawful 
act  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  it.  From  these  cases  it  is  evident 
that  a  man  is  not  governed  by  any  influence  from  without  or 
separate  from  himself;  but  that  the  true  spring  of  his  actions 


sect,  xi.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  163 

lies  in  his  own  inclinations  and  will,  external  things  having  no 
other  influence  than  as  they  furnish  objects  suited  to  his  appe- 
tites and  other  desires."* 

Edwards  asserts  that  "whatever  is  perceived  or  apprehended 
by  an  intelligent  and  voluntary  agent,  which  has  the  nature  and 
influence  of  a  motive  to  volition  or  choice,  is  considered  or  viewed 
as  good ;  nor  has  it  any  tendency  to  invite  or  engage  the  election 
of  the  soul,  in  any  further  degree  than  it  appears  such."  "  It 
must  be  observed  in  what  sense  I  use  the  term  good;  namely, 
as  of  the  same  import  with  agreeable.  To  appear  good  to  the 
mind,  as  I  use  the  phrase,  is  the  same  as  to  appear  agreeable,  or 
seem  pleasing  to  the  mind.  Certainly  nothing  appears  inviting 
and  eligible  to  the  mind,  or  tending  to  engage  its  inclination  and 
choice,  considered  as  evil  or  disagreeable ;  nor,  indeed,  as  indif- 
ferent, and  neither  agreeable  nor  disagreeable.  But  if  it  tends 
to  draw  the  inclination  and  move  the  will,  it  must  be  under  the 
notion  of  that  which  suits  the  mind.  And  therefore  that  must 
have  the  greatest  tendency  to  attract  and  engage  it,  which  as  it 
stands  in  the  mind's  view  suits  it  best,  and  pleases  it  most ;  and 
in  that  sense  is  the  greatest  apparent  good :  to  say  otherwise,  is 
little  if  any  thing  short  of  a  direct  and  plain  contradiction. "f  The 
tenor  of  the  whole  connection  shows  that  by  the  phrase,  "that 
which  suits  the  mind,"  is  here  meant  that  which  promises  it 
pleasure.  Thus  in  the  same  section  Edwards  proceeds  to  show 
what  it  is  that  makes  an  object  proposed  to  choice  agreeable. 
This  he  presents  under  two  general  heads.  The  first  is, — "  The 
apparent  nature  and  circumstances  of  the  object;"  namely, 
"That  which  appears  in  the  object,  which  renders  it  beautiful 
and  pleasurable,  or  deformed  and  irksome,  to  the  mind,  viewing 
it  as  it  is  in  itself;" — "The  apparent  degree  of  pleasure  or 
trouble  attending  the  object,  or  the  consequence  of  it;" — and 
"  The  apparent  state  of  the  pleasure  or  trouble  that  appears, 
with  respect  to  distance  of  time ;  being  either  nearer  or  farther 
off."  His  second  general  head  is, — "  The  manner  of  view," — as, 
"With  respect  to  the  degree  of  judgment,  or  firmness  of  assent, 

*  Alexander's  Moral  Science,  p.  109.         f  Edwards  on  the  Will,  part  i.  §  2. 


164  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

with  which  the  mind  judges  the  pleasure  to  be  future;" — and 
"  With  respect  to  the  degree  of  the  idea  of  the  future  pleasure." 
Thus  do  all  these  particular  reasons,  resolve  themselves  into  the 
one  proposition, — that  the  pleasure  anticipated  is  the  motive  to 
the  exertion  of  the  will.  But  here  is  overlooked  the  primary 
and  fundamental  question, — What  is  it,  which  renders  a  given 
object  pleasurable  or  disagreeable,  attractive  or  repulsive,  to  the 
mind?  Certainly  it  is  nothing  in  the  object  in  itself;  for,  if  so, 
a  given  object,  presented  to  a  thousand  persons,  would  produce 
precisely  the  same  effect  in  each  instance.  But,  on  the  contrary, 
we  find  that  the  effect  is  as  various,  as  the  diversities  of  mental 
constitution  possessed  by  the  persons  to  whom  it  is  presented. 
The  reason,  then,  why  an  object  is  attractive  to  a  given  person, 
is  not  any  thing  in  the  object,  absolutely;  but  the  fact  that  the 
nature  of  the  person  is  such  as  to  hold  a  complementary  relation 
to  it, — the  object,  corresponds  to  the  disposition  of  the  person. 

But  further,  we  object  altogether  to  the  assumption  that  it  is, 
in  any  sense  of  those  words,  the  good  or  pleasure  which  we 
apprehend  to  be  in  objects,  which  induces  the  will  to  embrace 
them.  In  what  conceivable  sense  is  it  true  that  blaspheming 
devils  and  reprobate  men  are  impelled  to  vent  their  curses,  by 
any  conception  of  good  or  anticipation  of  pleasure  in  them  ? 
Were  this  idea  true,  it  would  follow,  that  man's  endowment  with 
a  free  will  constituted  him  necessarily  and  purely  a  selfish 
being ;  pleasure  his  only  motive,  the  gratification  of  self  his 
highest  and  only  possible  end.  A  little  careful  reflection  will, 
we  are  persuaded,  satisfy  any  one,  that,  even  where  pleasure  is 
anticipated  in  an  act  of  volition,  it  is  not  as  pleasure  that  it 
presents  its  primary  aspect  to  the  mind.  In  fact,  the  first  cause 
of  volition,  in  every  case,  is  some  aptitude  which  the  mind  in- 
tuitively realizes,  toward  the  object.  And  it  is  this  aptitude  met 
and  satisfied  in  the  object,  which  in  certain  cases,  but  not  inva- 
riably, induces  a  sense  of  pleasure ; — a  sense,  in  the  order  of  nature, 
coincident  with,  and  not  the  cause  of,  the  volition.  Thus,  a  spirit 
of  hell  finds  an  affinity  in  his  perverted  nature  to  curses  against 
God.  Yet,  certainly,  whilst  he  yields  to  the  controlling  power 
of  his  fearful  and  atrocious  hate,  he  does  not  in  any  sense,  nor 


sect,  xi.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  165 

to  any  the  slightest  degree,  look  upon  this  as  having  a  single 
feature  of  good,  natural  or  moral,  or  one  element  of  pleasure, 
either  present  or  prospective.  He  sees  it  and  knows  it  as  what 
it  is, — evil  and  only  evil,  and  fraught  only  with  added  misery 
and  remorse  to  himself.  His  curses  spring  not  from  any  con- 
ception of  the  act  as  good  or  pleasurable,  from  any  action  of 
reason  or  conscience;  but  in  despite  of  both,  and  by  virtue  of  the 
perverted  attitude  of  the  soul  itself,  which  finds  the  congenial 
play  of  its  powers  in  evil  and  not  in  good.  Pleasure  is  a  sensa- 
tion arising  from  normal  action  or  relations  of  the  powers ;  from 
the  fruition  or  satisfying  of  an  original  and  unperverted  aptitude, 
physical  or  spiritual.  Man's  moral  nature  having  been  con- 
structed and  all  its  attributes  conferred,  after  the  likeness  and  in 
adaptation  to  the  service  and  glory  of  the  holy  and  blessed  God, 
and  his  physical  constitution  having  been  designed  and  endowed 
as  the  servant  of  the  soul,  in  fulfilling  this  its  great  end ;  it  follows 
that  the  position  proper  to  the  whole  man  is  in  harmony  with  the 
nature  of  God,  and  in  ministration  to  his  glory.  Abnormal  phe- 
nomena could,  therefore,  never  occur,  either  in  body  or  soul,  until 
man  became  apostate  from  God;  nor  from  any  cause  except  that 
apostasy,  which  constituted  the  assumption  of  an  abnormal  atti- 
tude by  the  soul,  and  caused  the  resulting  perversion  of  the 
bodily  powers;  and,  from  the  consequent  judicial  attitude  as- 
sumed by  God,  withholding  his  smile,  the  fountain  of  pleasure, 
and  inflicting  his  curse.  And  since  it  is  of  the  very  nature  of 
holiness  to  produce  happiness,  and  of  sin  to  produce  misery,  it 
follows  that  pleasure  can  never  be  realized  in  depraved  and  sin- 
ful exercises,  except  so  far  as  normal  action  or  relations  of  the 
physical  or  intellectual  powers  may  occur  in  connection  with  the 
sin;  which  is  often  the  case  among  men  in  the  flesh,  but  never  in 
hell.  Hence,  to  speak  of  beings  perfect  in  holiness,  and  yet  un- 
happy, or,  utterly  unholy  and  apostate  from  their  proper  atti- 
tude and  relations,  and  yet  capable  of  enjoyment,  is  a  contra- 
diction in  terms.  It  is,  therefore,  manifest,  that  appetite,  and 
pleasure  anticipated,  are  by  no  means  interchangeable  terms. 
Only  when  the  appetite  is  normal  is  the  result  enjoyment. 
Otherwise,  its  intensity  is  but  intenser  misery. 


166  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

The  freedom  which  we  have  attributed  to  the  will,  from  the 
efficient  control  of  external  objects  operating  as  motives,  implies 
§  12.  Freedom  its  independence  of  any  authoritative  dominion  of 
of  the  will.  reason  and  conscience.  Not  that  it  and  these  are 
necessarily  or  originally  at  variance.  Their  proper  and  original 
attitude  is  that  of  perfect  harmony.  But,  as  the  will  does  not  exer- 
cise any  direct  control  over  the  testimony  of  these,  the  intelligencers 
of  the  soul;  so,  neither  do  they  exert  any  controlling  force  to 
determine  the  action  of  the  will,  to  compel  it  in  one  direction  or 
another.  The  will  is,  in  fact,  the  organ  of  the  imperial  power 
in  man,  subject  to  no  law  but  the  soul's  nature,  and  consulting 
no  authority  but  the  constitution  of  that  nature.  Its  decrees 
are  sovereign  and  final;  against  which  reason  may  argue  and 
conscience  protest;  but  which  can  neither  be  modified  nor  re- 
pealed by  their  authority.  Hence  that  familiar  phenomenon  of 
the  human  heart,  which  is  expressed  in  the  well-known  confes- 
sion of  Seneca: — "Video  meliora,  proboque;  deteriora  sequor." 
Reason  sees  the  right,  and  conscience  attests  it,  but  the  will  em- 
braces the  wrong.  Nor  is  the  remedy  to  be  found  in  the  sub- 
ordination of  the  will  to  the  other  powers ;  but  in  the  reconcilia- 
tion of  the  nature  to  harmony  with  the  nature  of  God,  the  norm 
of  excellence. 

That  the  will  is  not  to  be  controlled  by  the  reason  and  con- 
science,— that  it  is,  with  them,  an  independent  and  co-ordinate 
power, — will  be  made  evident  by  a  few  suggestions. 

1.  Such  a  constitution  of  man's  nature,  as  had  subordinated 
the  will  to  the  domination  of  the  other  attributes,  would  have 
rendered  the  fall  impossible.  It  does  not  admit  of  a  moment's 
question,  that  the  reason  and  conscience  of  Adam,  in  his  unfallen 
state,  pointed  infallibly  to  the  truth  and  duty.  If  the  original 
and  normal  attitude  of  the  will  was  that  of  subjection  to  their 
control,  man  could  have  willed  nothing  but  what  was  true  and 
right.  It  would  have  been  a  natural  impossibility  that  he  should 
have  sinned.  If  it  should  be  said,  that  the  fall  was  consequent 
upon  the  will  usurping  the  sovereignty,  and  casting  off  allegiance 
to  reason  and  conscience;  it  will  be  necessary  to  weigh  well  the 
meaning  of  the  language.    However  justifiable  its  use  in  rhetori- 


sect,  xii.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  Grjd.  167 

cal  discourse,  it  involves,  if  taken  literally,  some  things  which 
are  entirely  inadmissible.  It  would  reduce  us  to  the  conclusion, 
that,  by  the  fall,  the  very  substance  of  the  soul  itself  was 
changed.  For,  as  already  intimated,  when  we  speak  of  the  will, 
conscience  and  reason,  we  really  mean  nothing  else  than  the  soul 
itself,  as  it  is  capable  of  action  in  these  various  ways.  They 
being  therefore  of  the  very  substance  of  the  soul,  their  relations 
to  each  other  are  characteristics  or  phenomena  of  that  substance. 
Hence,  to  say  that  one  of  these  powers,  which  was  originally 
subordinate,  has  usurped  the  mastery,  is,  to  suppose  that  the 
substance  of  the  soul  itself  was  by  the  fall  transformed, — that  a 
substance  which  was,  so  to  speak,  controllingly  and  character- 
istically rationalistic,  had  in  some  way  ceased  to  be  so,  and 
become  wilful.  This  is,  in  fact,  to  pretend  that  which  God  made 
to  have  been  destroyed,  and  something  of  a  different  nature 
originated  without  a  cause,  and  placed  in  its  stead.  Moreover, 
the  usurpation  here  attributed  to  the  will,  if  admitted,  is  the 
very  apostasy  itself, — the  very  thing  to  be  accounted  for. 

2.  Any  being  in  whom  the  will  should  be  subordinate  to,  and 
under  the  control  of,  the  moral  sense  and  reason,  would  thereby 
be  deprived  of  the  essential  characteristic  of  moral  agency.  Such 
a  position  of  the  moral  powers  implies  that  truth  and  right- 
eousness have  in  themselves,  apart  from  any  correspondence  of 
nature  in  the  agent,  a  power  of  immediate  operation  upon  the 
active  faculties  of  the  soul.  By  virtue  of  the  mere  fact  that 
righteousness  is  right,  the  soul  would  be  constrained  passively 
to  conform  to  it,  in  its  actions;  even  although  the  attributes  of 
the  soul  were  alien  from  it,  and  in  harmony  with  evil;  just  as 
the  plate  of  the  photographic  artist  passively  receives  the  traces 
which  the  rays  of  light  make  upon  it.  Man's  actions  would  thus 
be  under  the  control  of  a  necessity,  not  moral,  but  natural ;  and, 
thus  necessarily  conforming  to  the  right,  would  be  without  any 
title  to  the  meed  of  righteousness ;  since  he  could  not  do  wrong, 
even  if  his  soul  were  utterly  corrupt.  Actions  thus  necessitated 
would  have  no  more  moral  character  than  belongs  to  the  water- 
wheel,  which  yields  to  the  current  that  flows  upon  it;  or  the 
mirror,  that  faithfully  reflects  the  features  which  the  light  traces 


168  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

on  its  surface.  There  would  be  no  election,  and  hence  the  idea 
of  moral  agency  would  be  precluded.  Thus  should  we  have  a 
moral  monster,  of  such  a  constitution,  that,  whilst  his  whole 
nature  might  be  in  revolt  from  God,  yet,  under  the  mechanical 
control  of  reason  and  conscience,  his  actions  would  conform  per- 
fectly to  the  law  of  holiness ;  and  it  would  be  impossible  for  any 
being  but  the  Searcher  of  hearts  to  perceive  the  reality.  The 
alternative  would  be,  either,  that,  in  failing  to  punish,  the  Holy 
One  should  accept  of  the  outward  appearance  instead  of  the 
heart;  or  that,  in  punishing,  the  infliction  should  be  visited  on 
beings  who,  to  all  created  apprehension,  would  be  as  righteous 
as  the  white-robed  throng  before  the  throne;  thus  precluding 
any  revelation  of  the  holiness  and  justice  of  God. 

3.  Men  are  all  conscious  of  such  a  freedom  of  will  as  is  irrecon- 
cilable with  the  notion  which  we  here  oppose.  In  the  ungodly, 
the  will  is  habitually  and  consciously  at  variance  with  the  truth 
and  right.  And,  in  the  child  of  God,  whilst  this  same  per- 
versity of  will  is  often  realized,  it  is  felt,  that  even  when  the 
will,  the  reason  and  conscience  are  in  unison,  this  is  not  because 
of  any  force  exerted  by  the  latter  over  the  will ;  but  because  of 
a  harmony  subsisting  between  the  new  nature  and  the  holiness 
and  truth  to  which  the  other  moral  powers  bear  witness. 

4.  The  manner  in  which  arguments  operate  on  the  minds 
of  men,  is  also  conclusive  of  the  freedom  of  will,  which  we 
here  assert.  It  is  not  the  expectation  of  any  reasoner,  who  is 
at  all  acquainted  with  human  nature,  to  influence  the  actions  of 
men  by  appeals  to  pure  reason,  as  such.  Persuasions  are  indeed 
addressed  to  the  understanding ;  but  only  because  that  is  the 
channel  of  access  to  the  nature,  by  which  the  will  is  determined. 
Hence  it  is,  that  those  arguments  which  appeal  to  the  light  of 
pure  reason,  are  seldom  effectual ;  whilst  such  as  address  them- 
selves to  the  dispositions  of  men's  natures  never  fail  of  success. 
A  public  speaker  shall  lay  down  premises  of  incontrovertible 
truth,  and  thence  trace  his  conclusions  by  the  most  rigorous 
application  of  the  rules  of  logic  and  principles  of  reason ;  and 
yet  utterly  fail  to  move  his  audience.  Another  may  start  from 
premises  which  are  palpably  false,  and  proceed  in  a  line  of 


sect,  xii.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  169 

argument  which  has  no  respect  either  to  truth  or  reason ;  and 
yet  bear  his  hearers  with  him  in  enthusiastic  admiration  and 
acquiescence.  The  former  has  studied  the  principles  of  truth, 
and  the  dictates  of  reason  and  conscience.  The  other,  indifferent 
to  these,  has  studied  human  nature.  This  is  the  field  in  which 
are  tried  and  developed  the  skill  of  the  pleader,  whose  business  it 
is  to  operate  on  the  minds  of  juries ;  and  of  the  orator,  who  seeks 
to  guide  and  control  the  populace.  By  these  it  is  felt  that,  in 
order  to  success,  the  appeal  must  be  to  the  peculiar  appetites 
and  propensities  of  the  several  individuals ;  and  reason  and 
conscience  are  no  further  addressed  than  as  the  nature  of  the 
party  is  supposed  to  be  in  harmony  with  them.  In  the  variety 
of  pleas  employed  on  such  occasions,  the  orator  engages  in  a 
series  of  experiments,  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  and  playing 
upon  such  notes  as  will  arouse  responsive  chords  in  the  hearts 
of  his  hearers.  If  they  are  attuned  in  harmony  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  truth  and  the  laws  of  right,  appeal  is  made  to  these. 
If  the  nature  be  debased,  however  clear  may  be  the  reason,  and 
however  faithful  the  conscience,  it  is  in  vain  to  appeal  to  them ; 
and  unless  something  is  presented  of  an  aspect  congenial  to 
the  depraved  heart,  the  man  will  be  uninfluenced ;  his  will  re- 
mains unmoved.  Nor  is  it  inconsistent  with  this  view  that,  in 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  appeal  is  continually  made  to  reason 
and  conscience ;  since,  contrary  to  natural  causes,  the  convincing 
and  saving  result  is  wrought  by  the  almighty  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  transforming  the  nature  into  the  likeness  of  God 
and  harmony  with  the  claims  of  truth  and  the  calls  of  duty. 

5.  Precisely  here  is  that  liberty  which  the  Scriptures  at- 
tribute to  the  sons  of  GTod.  Says  the  beloved  and  loving  John, 
"  There  is  no  fear  in  love,  but  perfect  love  casteth  out  fear ; 
because  fear  hath  torment.  He  that  feareth  is  not  made 
perfect  in  love." — John  iv.  18.  Says  Paul,  "  Ye  have  not 
received  the  spirit  of  bondage  again  to  fear ;  but  ye  have  re- 
ceived the  spirit  of  adoption,  whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Father." — 
Rom.  viii.  15.  "  Wherefore,"  says  he  again,  "  thou  art  no  more 
a  servant,  but  a  son ;  and  if  a  son,  then  an  heir  of  God,  through 
Christ."    "Stand  fast,  therefore,  in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ 


170  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

hath  made  you  free,  and  be  not  entangled  again  with  the 
yoke  of  bondage." — Gal.  iv.  7 ;  v.  1.  Reason  and  conscience  are 
servants  of  the  law,  demanding  obedience  to  its  precepts,  and 
denouncing  curses  against  transgression.  The  will  is  the 
minister  of  love,  in  him  that  has  attained  to  liberty ;  putting 
forth  its  powers  in  accordance  indeed  with  reason  and  con- 
science; yet  not  acting  under  their  precept;  but  impelled  by  the 
affinity  which  the  soul  realizes  toward  holiness  and  the  Holy 
One.  And  herein  will  consist  the  character  of  the  holiness  of 
the  saints  in  heaven.  There,  the  ardent  affections  will  not  be 
held  in  curb  by  tardy  judgments  issued  from  the  tribunal  of  a 
written  law.  But  the  will,  going  eagerly  forth  on  the  wings  of 
love,  inspired  by  perception  of  the  glorious  beauty  of  God's 
holiness,  will  give  continual  expression  to  the  instincts  of  the 
soul,  attuned  in  harmony  with  the  holy  nature  of  God , — expres- 
sion with  which  the  other  moral  powers  will  ever  harmonize. 
Thus,  their  holiness  is  not  that  of  thoughts  and  deeds  doled  out 
by  weight  and  measure,  in  conformity  with  an  extrinsic  rule ; 
but,  of  affections  and  actions  springing  freely  and  spontaneously 
from  natures  conformed  to  that  nature  of  the  Holy  One,  from 
which  the  law  is  transcribed. 

Freedom,  or  liberty,  is  defined  by  Edwards  to  consist  in  one's 
"being  free  from  hinderance  or  impediment  in  the  way  of  doing 
g  13.  The  Li-  or  conducting  in  any  respect,  as  he  wills."  He  hence 
herty  defined,  concludes,  that  "  to  talk  of  liberty  or  the  contrary, 
as  belonging  to  the  very  will  itself,  is  not  to  speak  good  sense ; 
...  for  the  will  itself  is  not  an  agent  that  has  a  will :  the  power 
of  choosing,  itself,  has  not  a  power  of  choosing.  That  which 
has  the  power  of  volition  or  choice  is  the  man  or  the  soul,  and 
not  the  power  of  volition  itself.  And  he  that  has  the  liberty 
of  doing  according  to  his  will,  is  the  agent  or  doer  who  is  pos- 
sessed of  the  will;  and  not  the  will  which  he  is  possessed  of." 
Edwards  here  evidently  labours  under  a  vague  conception  of  the 
will  as  a  limb  or  member  of  the  soul, — something  distinct 
from  its  substance, — instead  of  being,  as  it  is,  the  very  soul  itself, 
viewed  with  respect  to  its  capacity  for  putting  forth  the  pheno- 
mena of  volition.     Hence,  the  distinction  which  he  draws  be- 


sect,  xil]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  171 

tween  freedom  of  the  soul  and  freedom  of  will  is  altogether 
inconclusive  and  impertinent.  Further,  the  statement  is  not 
what  it  purports  to  be, — a  definition  of  liberty  or  freedom, — but 
a  description  of  a  free  person.  And  it  is  this  inadvertence, 
which  leads  Edwards  to  the  conclusion,  that  freedom  may  not, 
in  accuracy  of  speech,  be  attributed  to  the  will: — "A  free  per- 
son is  one  who  has  power  to  do  according  to  his  will; — the  will 
itself  is  not  an  agent  possessed  of  a  will ; — therefore,  freedom  is 
not  predicable  of  the  will." 

We  greatly  prefer  the  definition  of  another  equally  illustrious 
philosopher  and  theologian.  "Long  ago,"  says  Leibnitz,  "did 
Aristotle  show,  that  in  liberty  there  are  two  things, — sponta- 
neity and  election;  and  herein  is  our  dominion  over  our  own 
actions."*  Spontaneity  and  election, — wherever  these  coexist, 
there  is  liberty;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  should  either  of 
these  be  wanting,  liberty  is  not  predicable.  Spontaneity  implies 
that  the  action  is  not  in  itself  necessary,  nor  produced  by  the 
efficiency  of  an  external  power;  but  has  its  cause  intrinsically 
in  the  agent.  Election  implies  the  intelligent  recognition  of  the 
alternatives  of  action  and  inaction,  and  of  action  in  this  or  the 
other  direction, — the  power  of  conforming  to  either  of  the  al- 
ternatives that  may  be  selected, — and  discrimination,  among 
them,  of  that  which  conforms  to  the  standard  of  reference,  the 
nature  of  the  agent.  If  this  be  a  correct  definition,  the  will  is 
properly  described  as  free. 

But,  whilst  the  will  is  thus  free,  it  is  by  no  means  endowed 
with  that  liberty  of  indifference  of  which  Arminians  speak. 
Whilst  it  acts  without  constraint,  it  has  not  that  power  of  con- 
trary choice  for  which  they  contend.  Its  spontaneity  is  as  de- 
terminate, and  the  precise  manner  of  its  action  as  certain,  ante- 
cedently, as  is  that  of  gravitation,  or  the  elective  affinity  of 
chemical  elements.  This  follows  from  all  that  we  have  already 
said.  If  the  action  of  the  will  be  the  expression  of  the  elective 
affinities  of  the  soul, — if  it  be,  as  we  have  endeavoured  to  show, 
actuated,  not  by  external  motives,  but  by  the  internal  dispositions 
of  the  nature, — it  will  follow,  that  inasmuch  as  these  are  specific 

*  Leibn.  Tentamina  Theodicaese,  part  i.  \  34. 


172  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

and  precise  in  their  character  and  attitude,  they  will  cause, 
in  the  will,  action  determinate  and  correspondent  with  them. 
Most  emphatic  to  this  purpose  is  the  expostulation  of  Jesus  with 
the  Pharisees: — "0  generation  of  vipers!  how  can  ye,  being 
evil,  speak  good  things  ?  For  out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart 
the  mouth  speaketh.  A  good  man  out  of  the  good  treasure  of 
the  heart  bringeth  forth  good  things;  and  an  evil  man,  out  of 
the  evil  treasure,  bringeth  forth  evil  things." — Matt.  xii.  34,  35. 
Thus  the  will  is  the  faithful  and  only  index  to  the  soul.  The 
reason  and  conscience  tell  what  is  truth,  and  what  is  duty, — 
what  is  the  nature  of  God,  and  what  he  requires  of  man.  The 
will  proclaims  what  the  man  is ; — whether  in  harmony  with  the 
other  moral  powers,  or  alien  from  them ; — whether  conformed 
to  the  holiness  which  he  sees  in  God,  or  estranged  from  holiness, 
and  enslaved  to  sin. 

Thus  was  the  soul  of  Adam  endowed  with  an  efficient  force, 
constituting  it  a  cause,  the  effects  of  which  were  correspondent 
with  and  expressive  of  its  own  nature, — a  force  independent  of 
any  power  but  God,  and  of  which  his  will  was  the  expression. 
As  God  is,  in  himself,  the  sole  reason  and  cause  of  all  his  works, 
unimpelled  and  unrestrained,  in  the  operation  of  his  hand,  by 
any  thing  but  his  own  will, — the  expression  of  the  perfections 
of  his  nature, — so,  Adam,  by  his  endowment  with  freedom  of 
will,  was  constituted  in  himself  sole  cause  of  all  the  phenomena 
of  his  moral  agency,  and  all  the  actions  of  his  life, — his  self- 
active  intellectual  and  moral  nature  their  only  reason  and  cause, 
and  his  free  will  its  efficient  executive.  This  investiture  consti- 
tuted one  of  the  most  striking  and  characteristic  features  of  that 
likeness  in  which  man  was  created. 

Such  was  the  moral  constitution  with  which  Adam  was  en- 
dowed : — consisting  of  a  rational  intelligence,  which  was  a  faithful 
mirror  of  truth, — a  moral  sense,  which,  taught  by  the  law  in  the 
heart,  was  a  perfect  guide  in  the  path  of  duty, — and  a  will, 
which,  in  the  original  estate  of  man,  was  in  perfect  unison  with 
the  others ;  and  in  every  state,  constitutes  the  index  to  the  moral 
attitude  of  the  soul,  and  gives  effect  to  its  aptitudes  and  affini- 
ties, whether  holy  or  depraved.     Adam's  nature  being  formed 


sect,  xin.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  173 

in  the  likeness  of  God,  in  righteousness  and  holiness,  as  we  shall 
presently  see,  his  will,  responsive  to  it,  was  in  perfect  sympathy 
with  the  will  of  God.  Placed  thus  in  a  native  attitude  of  per- 
fect harmony  with  all  excellence,  he  was,  moreover,  endowed 
with  an  exalted  and  honourable  freedom  from  any  irresistible 
control.  His  nature,  although  holy,  was  not  bound  by  any 
extraneous  or  forceful  constraint  to  the  throne  of  God.  Those 
affinities  of  his  soul  which  tended  upward  toward  God  were 
indeed  invested  with  the  predominance.  But  there  were  other 
aptitudes  in  his  nature, — to  self,  the  world,  and  the  creatures ; — 
aptitudes  which  were  right  in  themselves,  and,  in  their  normal 
exercise,  conducive  to  his  happiness;  but  which,  if  they  should 
gain  the  mastery,  involved  ruin  to  man.  His  holy  dispositions 
must  be  cherished  in  order  to  confirmed  supremacy;  and  watch- 
ing and  prayerfulness  are  necessary,  lest  the  soul,  heedless  of  its 
high  calling,  wander  in  devious  paths,  and  become  enslaved  to 
grovelling  and  sensual  things.  "Man  in  his  state  of  innocency 
had  freedom  and  power  to  will  and  to  do  that  which  is  good  and 
well  pleasing  to  God;  but  yet  mutably,  so  that  he  might  fall 
from  it."* 

It  has  been  intimated  that  knowledge  of  God  and  of  his  own 
relations  to  him,  was  essential  to  that  obligation  of  obedience, 
2  14.  Adam's  which  is  recognised  in  Adam.  In  fact,  a  know- 
hwwiedrje.  ledge  of  God,  as  the  supreme  and  holy  lawgiver,  is 
necessarily  implied,  and  lies  at  the  foundation  of  our  ideas  of 
right  and  wrong, — the  reference  of  our  actions  to  a  moral 
standard  of  judgment.  And  some  knowledge,  not  only  of  God, 
but  of  the  creatures, — of  their  several  relations  to  each  other, 
and  to  the  Creator,  and  of  his  own  relations  to  both, — was  mani- 
festly requisite  in  order  to  the  intelligent  performance  of  those 
duties  which  Adam  owed  them  severally.  Accordingly,  that 
such  knowledge  constituted  an  element  in  the  image  which  shone 
in  him,  appears  from  the  language  of  Paul,  describing  its  re- 
storation in  believers  : — "Ye  have  put  on  the  new  man  which  is 
renewed  in  knowledge,  after  the  image  of  him  that  created 
him." — Col.  iii.  10.     There  can  be,  in  the  same  nature,  but  one 

*  Westminster  Confession,  ch.  ix.  2. 


174  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

image  of  the  unchangeable  God.  It  is  here  characterized  by 
knowledge;  and  represented,  not  as  an  absolutely  new  creation, 
but  the  renewing  of  that,  which,  traced  in  creation,  had  been 
defaced  by  the  fall.  Knowledge  therefore  constituted  one  of  the 
original  endowments  of  Adam.  This  further  appears,  from  that 
pregnant  passage  in  the  first  chapter  of  Romans,  in  which  Paul 
proves  the  ignorance  and  idolatry  of  the  heathen  world  to  be 
without  excuse.  Rom.  i.  19-28  : — "Because  that  which  may  be 
known  of  God  is  manifest  in  them ;  for  God  hath  showed  it  unto 
them.  For  the  invisible  things  of  him  from  the  creation  of  the 
world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the  things  that  are 
made,  even  his  eternal  power  and  Godhead,  so  that  they  are 
without  excuse;  because  that  when  they  knew  God,  they  glori- 
fied him  not  as  God,  neither  were  thankful,  but  became  vain  in 

their  imaginations,  and  their  foolish  heart  was  darkened 

Who  changed  the  truth  of  God  into  a  lie,  and  worshipped  and 
served  the  creature  more  than  the  Creator,  who  is  blessed  for- 
ever.    Amen And  even  as  they  did  not  like  to  retain 

God  in  their  knowledge,  God  gave  them  over  to  a  reprobate 
mind."  Observe  that  the  whole  design  of  the  apostle's  argu- 
ment is,  utterly  to  deprive  every  child  of  Adam  of  any  resource 
in  the  fancy  of  self-righteousness,  or  the  plea  of  ignorant  and 
therefore  excusable  transgression ;  so  as  to  prepare  the  way  for 
the  offer  of  free  salvation  to  all.  Accordingly,  in  the  application 
of  this  very  argument  we  find  him  asserting  (ch.  iii.  9,  10)  "we 
have  before  proved  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  that  they  are  all 
under  sin;  as  it  is  written,  There  is  none  righteous,  no,  not  one." 
See  also  the  same  chapter,  vs.  20-23.  The  statements  of  the 
apostle  must  therefore  be  taken  in  as  broad  a  sense  as  the  con- 
clusions which  he  draws.  Here,  then,  is  a  knowledge  compre- 
hending all  "that  which  may  be  known  of  God"  by  the 
creature ; — a  knowledge  condemning  each  individual  of  the 
heathen  world  without  exception;  and  therefore  common  to  all, 
and  not  limited,  as  some  would  wish,  to  their  philosophers  and 
sages; — a  knowledge  originally  in  them,  but  now  obscured  and 
darkened  by  their  wilful  transgressions,  and  preference  of  dark- 
ness and  ignorance;    therefore  not  fully  realized  in  them  as 


sect,  xiv.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  175 

individuals,  but  referable  rather  to  their  nature,  than  to  their 
persons; — a  knowledge  the  date  of  which  is  "the  creation  of  the 
world;"  and  the  discoveries  of  which  are  based  upon  the  in- 
tuitive sense  that  the  universe  must  have  an  author,  and  that 
he  must  be  Jehovah,  the  eternal  God;  and  which  the  apostle  in 
the  next  chapter  identifies  with  "the  law  written  in  the  heart." 
How  can  the  conclusion  be  avoided,  that  this  universal  cha- 
racteristic of  man,  which  at  once  marks  the  dignity  of  his  nature, 
and  stigmatizes  the  heinousness  of  his  ignorance  and  sins,  had 
its  fountain  and  fulness  in  Adam, — that  what  may  be  known  of 
God  was  manifest  in  him, — that  God  showed  it  to  him,  so  that 
by  him  it  was  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the  things  that 
are  made  ? 

But,  contrary  to  all  this,  by  a  popular  commentator,  Adam  is 
described  as  "the  first  man,  just  looking  on  a  world  of  wonders; 
unacquainted  with  law,  and  moral  relations,  and  the  effect  of 
transgression."*  Other  New  Haven  writers  speak  in  a  similar 
style.  The  sentiment  is  at  least  as  old  as  Socinus;  who,  in 
proof  of  Adam's  ignorance,  cited  the  fact  that  he  did  not  at  first 
know  that  he  was  naked!  "That  is,"  says  a  quaint  old  writer, 
"he  did  not  certainly  know  whether  his  own  skin  was  his  own 
or  not;  and  was  so  silly  he  could  not  tell  whether  he  had  any 
thing  over  it!" 

But  is  this  true?  Then  must  we  go  still  further,  and  assert 
that  the  trees  of  the  garden  were  no  more  than  thrifty  shoots, 
bearing  only  the  latent  germs  of  future  fruitfulness ;  and  that 
the  animals  that  received  their  names  from  Adam  were  creatures 
of  powers  as  yet  undeveloped,  and  faculties  unmatured.  If  it 
be  said  that  the  necessity  of  the  case  required  that  the  vegetable 
creation  should  be  mature  and  fruit-bearing,  in  order  to  supply 
food  for  the  inferior  animals  and  man,  and  that  for  other  reasons 
it  was  equally  requisite  that  the  animal  tribes  should  enter  on 
the  stage  in  maturity  of  natural  faculties;  we  reply  that  in 
reference  to  Adam  there  was  in  the  nature  of  the  case  a  still 
higher,  a  moral,  necessity  that  he  should  not  come  forth  from 
his  Creator's  hand  a  monster  instead  of  a  man;  hiding  under  the 

*  Barnes  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  1st  ed.  p.  115,  (on  ch.  v.  12.) 


176  The  EloJiim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

disguise  of  mature  physical  proportions  the  intellect  of  a  sim- 
pleton and  the  soul  of  a  child.  Not  only  does  there  appear  a 
moral  necessity  that  Adam  should  possess  full  maturity,  in  the 
capacities  and  furniture  of  his  mind  and  soul,  as  well  as  of  his 
body;  but  we  have  ample  evidence  that  such  maturity  was  his 
endowment.  Whence,  otherwise,  did  he  possess  the  capacity  to 
name  the  beasts,  and  exercise  dominion  over  them,  as  they  were 
brought  before  him,  and  subjected  to  his  authority?  From 
the  narrative  of  that  transaction,  in  connection  with  its  sequel, 
the  introduction  of  Eve,  and  her  name,  given  by  Adam  in  a 
manner  implying  an  intuitive  knowledge  of  her  origin,  nature 
and  relation  to  him;  it  appears  that  by  a  divine  inspiration, — 
nay,  by  the  very  inspiration  which  constituted  him  a  living  soul, 
Adam  was  endowed  with  knowledge  of  all  that  it  was  requisite 
he  should  know,  in  order  to  fulfilling  the  duties  required  of  him, 
and  exercising  the  dominion  which  was  bestowed  upon  him. 
How  else  shall  we  understand  the  providence  of  God,  by  which 
he  was  immediately  placed  in  relations  so  various,  so  complicated 
and  so  responsible?  As  a  subject  of  God,  held  to  a  responsibility 
comprehensive  of  his  being,  and  holding  his  very  existence  at 
stake ; — as  a  social  being  bound  in  the  marriage  tie ; — as  a  mas- 
ter, possessing  the  earth,  and  ruling  the  inferior  tribes; — as  a 
necessitous  and  dependent  being,  tilling  and  dressing  the  garden, 
and  drawing  thence  his  supplies  of  food, — he  occupied  relations 
rendering  absolutely  necessary  a  considerable  acquaintance  with 
the  laws  of  nature ;  and  a  full  understanding  of  the  moral  law, 
in  both  its  tables,  of  moral  relations,  in  all  their  aspects,  and  of 
the  results  of  obedience  and  transgression,  in  all  their  bearings 
and  extent.  Nor  do  we  find  reason  to  modify  these  conclusions 
by  any  thing  recorded  in  the  history  of  Adam.  In  the  blessing 
passed  upon  him  at  his  creation ; — in  the  designation  of  his  food ; — 
in  his  introduction  to  the  garden,  and  the  precept  respecting  the 
tree ; — in  the  presentation  of  the  animals  and  birds ; — in  the  in- 
terview with  the  tempter,  the  transgression  and  the  curse, — his 
just  and  gracious  Maker  always  assumes  Adam  to  understand 
his  relations,  duties  and  responsibilities;  and  Adam  responds 
universally  and  unequivocally  to  this  supposition. 


sect,  xiv.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  177 

We  have  said,  that,  by  the  very  inspiration  which  made  Adam 
a  living  soul,  he  was  endowed  with  the  knowledge  requisite  to 
his  situation.  That  such  was  the  faith  of  holy  men  of  old,  see 
the  language  of  Elihu,  in  his  remarkable  apology  for  interposing 
between  Job  and  his  three  friends: — "I  said,  Days  shall  speak, 
and  multitude  of  years  shall  teach  wisdom.  But  there  is  a 
spirit  in  man,  and  the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty  giveth  them 
understanding."  "My  words  shall  be  of  the  uprightness  of  my 
heart,  and  my  lips  shall  utter  knowledge  clearly.  The  Spirit  of 
God  hath  made  me,  and  the  breath  of  the  Almighty  hath  given 
me  life." — Job  xxxii.  7,  8;  xxxiii.  3,  4.  It  will  not  be  supposed, 
that  Elihu  here  claims  that  plenary  inspiration  by  which  the 
prophets  spake.  Plainly,  his  language  points  to  the  manner  in 
which  Adam  was  created,  and  life  imparted  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 
In  this,  he  finds  an  argument  of  intelligence  and  knowledge, 
authorizing  his  claim  to  a  hearing,  in  the  presence  of  the  patri- 
archs, to  whom  he  justified  the  ways  of  God  to  man. 

Another  line  of  argument  will  lead  us  to  conclusions  equally 
clear  and  satisfactory,  in  regard  to  the  original  furniture  of 
,.,     D     ,    Adam's  intellect.     Words  and  language  are  mere  ve- 

#  15.      Proof  &       D 

from  the  use  hides  for  conveying  ideas ;  and  this  by  the  associating 
"f  i«nrJua(Je-  and  combining  of  ideas  already  present  in  the  reci- 
pient mind.  Except  as  they  serve  this  end,  they  possess  no 
value,  and  exert  no  power.  The  narrative  of  Moses  shows  lan- 
guage to  have  originated  with  God, — its  first  use  being  the 
instruction  of  the  newly  created  man,  in  his  relations,  duties 
and  privileges,  toward  God  and  the  creatures,  the  law  and  the 
curse.  Those  communications  assume  to  address  themselves  to 
a  knowledge  and  intelligence  in  Adam  of  the  highest  order  and 
widest  extent;  and  if  these  were  wanting,  the  language  in  which 
he  was  addressed  could  have  conveyed  no  more  sense  to  his  un- 
derstanding than  would  the  Hebrew  of  Moses  to  the  mind  of  an 
untutored  child. 

It  is  further  to  be  noticed,  that  the  sense  of  language  is  not 
diverse,  but  one;  that  is  to  say, — a  given  word  or  single  state- 
ment, occurring  in  a  communication  from  an  intelligent  mind,  is 
the  expression  of  a  single  and  specific  idea,  which  has  a  precise 

12 


178  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

definition  in  the  mind  of  the  author.  However  comprehensive 
the  idea,  however  many  elements  it  may  contain,  it  is  conceived 
as  a  unit,  and  as  such  imparted,  through  the  channel  of  words. 
It  is  hence  apparent,  that  language  misses  its  proper  office  just 
so  far  as  it  fails  to  convey  to  the  recipient  mind  the  precise  ideas, 
in  all  their  elements  and  scope,  of  which  it  is  the  symbol  in  the 
mind  of  the  speaker.  Two  things,  which  are  diverse  from  each 
other,  are  not  one  and  the  same  thing.  If,  therefore,  the  lan- 
guage used  in  any  given  case  fails  to  exhibit  a  precise  copy  of 
the  idea  designed,  it  may  serve  certain  valuable  ends,  by  means 
of  the  inaccurate  and  partial  intelligence  which  it  conveys ;  yet 
to  the  proper  purposes  of  its  mission  it  is  a  failure.  It  does  not 
in  the  least  militate  against  the  correctness  of  this  position,  to 
urge  that  it  involves  the  conclusion  that  human  speech  always 
fails  of  its  end;  inasmuch  as  men  neither  can,  nor  hope  to,  attain 
to  the  supposed  accuracy  in  the  communication  of  their  thoughts. 
The  catastrophe  of  the  fall  has  not  left  the  understanding  un- 
scathed; and  the  language  of  the  apostle  is  applicable,  not  merely 
to  the  things  which  were  immediately  before  him,  when  he  says, 
that  "now  we  see  through  a  glass  darkly."  "Now  we  know  in 
part."  Not  only  so,  but  however  defective  the  skill  with  which 
man,  even  in  his  unfallen  state,  might  have  employed  the  instru- 
mentality of  speech,  no  such  deficiency  can  be  presumed  of  God, 
even  in  communication  with  his  most  imperfect  creatures. 

To  apply  these  principles  to  the  present  purpose : — Here  is 
Adam,  with  intellect  and  soul,  just  born  of  the  creative  Word; 
presenting  a  pure  and  spotless  tablet,  ready  to  receive  and  radiate 
the  softest  tint,  the  most  delicate  line,  traced  there  by  the  Spirit 
of  God.  Here  is  God,  the  maker  of  that  tablet,  the  Creator  of 
that  soul,  about  to  inscribe  upon  it  communications  embracing 
in  their  scope  every  relation  which  Adam  sustained,  every  duty 
required  of  him,  and  every  privilege  he  enjoyed; — communica- 
tions fraught  with  results,  infinite  for  weal  or  woe,  not  to  him- 
self only,  but  to  myriads  of  immortal  intelligences,  his  seed ; — 
results,  all  whose  infinite  weight  was  involved  in  his  clear  and 
intelligent  apprehension  of  the  things  addressed  to  him.  Here, 
too,  is  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  official  interpreter  between  the  Triune 


sect,  xv.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  179 

God,  whose  messenger  he  was,  and  man,  in  whose  bosom  he 
dwelt.  I  ask,  Had  the  language  of  God  to  Adam  defined  and 
specific  meaning  ?  Was  the  channel  of  speech  wisely  constructed 
and  employed  ?  Was  it  truly  interpreted  by  the  Spirit  of  Holi- 
ness ?  Was  a  faithful  copy  inscribed  on  the  tablet  of  Adam's 
understanding  ?  Or,  was  it  defective  and  false  ?  In  short,  could 
the  Creator  convey  to  the  mind  of  Adam  the  precise  idea  which 
he  might  wish  to  communicate  ?  And,  if  he  could  thus  commu- 
nicate, did  he  choose  any  thing  short  of  this  ?  And  let  not  him 
who  shall  essay  to  frame  answers  to  these  questions,  charge  God 
foolishly.  For  the  whole  issue  here  is  with  God.  Himself  the 
author  of  the  ideas  to  be  imparted,  of  the  relations  to  be  ex- 
plained, and  the  laws  to  be  enforced; — Himself  the  former  of 
man's  soul,  which  was  the  passive  recipient  of  the  communica- 
tions ;  and  the  inventor  of  language,  the  channel  of  intercourse ; — 
and  the  Holy  Ghost  the  agent  of  communication, — if  the  ideas 
inscribed  on  man's  heart  were  not  the  very  same  which  were 
comprehended  in  the  language  of  God,  whose  is  the  defect  ?  Let 
it  not  be  said,  that  Adam  understood,  indeed;  but  partially  and 
obscurely.  Whatever  the  measure  of  his  understanding,  it  was 
given  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Whatever  the  defectiveness  of  his 
apprehension, — however  obscure  the  image  of  the  truth  on  his 
mind, — what  he  saw  was  what  the  Spirit  wrote;  as  he  saw  it,  so 
was  it  traced  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Here  then  have  we  the 
Creator  addressing  the  ear  of  man  in  words  definite  and  clear. 
And  does  the  Spirit  interpret  them  to  his  soul,  in  terms  vague 
and  obscure?  God  points  out  in  words  of  weightiest  import  the 
path  of  duty  and  happiness,  and  the  way  of  sin  and  death.  Does 
the  Spirit  of  God  so  translate  these  revelations,  as  to  leave  him 
ignorant  wherein  duty  consists, — what  is  the  happiness  to  be 
sought,  the  evil  to  be  avoided,  or  the  ruin  to  be  shunned;  "un- 
acquainted with  law,  and  moral  relations,  and  the  effect  of  trans- 
gression"? His  posterity  now  read  the  same  words  which  were 
addressed  to  him,  and  find  no  difficulty  in  apprehending  their 
meaning ;  whilst  they  trace  in  them  the  vestiges  of  an  innocence 
long  since  lost;  and  the  beacons  of  a  ruin  now  too  fearfully 
realized.     And  shall  we  tolerate  for  one  moment  the  idea,  that  he 


ISO  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

to  whom  they  were  addressed,  upon  whose  right  understanding 
and  correspondent  conduct  the  destiny  of  unborn  millions  was  sus- 
pended, was  left  in  ignorance; — an  ignorance  enstampeel  on  his 
heart  by  the  very  Spirit  of  light  and  truth,  by  means  of  the 
words  of  knowledge  and  life ; — an  ignorance  insurmountable  by 
man,  and  therefore  innocent;  disqualifying  him  for  the  perform- 
ance of  duty,  and,  by  parity  of  reasoning,  at  the  same  time 
freeing  him  from  the  responsibility  of  transgression  ?  For  if  he 
did  not,  and  could  not,  know  what  God  required,  he  could  not  by 
justice  be  held  to  account!  We  therefore  conclude,  that  what- 
ever communications  were  addressed  to  Adam  by  his  Creator, 
were  comprehended  by  him  in  the  very  sense,  and  to  the  whole 
intent,  with  which  they  were  uttered  by  God. 

Nor  is  it  of  any  pertinence  against  this  conclusion,  to  insist 
that  it  implies  a  degree  of  knowledge  beyond  the  capacities  of 
any  creature ;  because  the  words  of  God  must  all  possess  rela- 
tions, and  have  a  comprehension,  which  is  only  within  the 
capacity  of  Him  who  is  perfect  in  knowledge.  Words  taken 
severally  are  not  designed  as  descriptions  of  the  things  repre- 
sented by  them,  but  as  indices  suggestive  of  those  things.  When, 
for  example,  we  assert  that  Adam  understood  the  threatening, — 
"  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die," — we  do 
not  thereby  imply,  that  he  so  understood  the  nature  of  the 
penalty  of  death,  as  fully  to  comprehend  and  exhaust  its  signifi- 
cance, as  eternity  shall  unfold  it.  Such  is  not  the  manner  in 
which  language  is  ever  employed.  I  may  clearly  understand 
that,  the  word,  death,  means  the  vindictive  wrath  of  God,  without 
pretending  to  apprehend  the  whole  burden  which  that  wrath 
will  inflict.  Every  one  will  see  the  absurdity  of  pretending  that 
the  sentence, — "  God  is  a  Spirit," — does  not  convey  a  clear,  in- 
telligible and  specific  idea  to  the  mind;  because  no  one  can  com- 
prehend God,  or  know,  in  a  complete  and  exhaustive  sense,  what 
a  spirit  is. 

Having  reached  this  point,  let  the  reader  turn  to  the  book  of 
Genesis,  and  examine  the  narrative  there  given,  of  the  several 
communications  addressed  to  Adam  before  his  fall;  and  of  his 
language  and  conduct  during  the  same  period.     Subject  these 


sect,  xv.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  181 

passages,  word  by  word,  to  the  strictest  rules  of  grammatical 
interpretation,  and, — whether  we  adopt  the  opinion  that  in  his 
very  creation  Adam  was  endowed  with  all  requisite  knowledge, 
or,  that  the  word  and  works  of  God  were  clothed  with  an  illu- 
minating power,  so  that  each  word  and  each  fact  conveyed  to 
his  mind  all  that  antecedent  information  which  is  presupposed  in 
it, — the  conclusion  remains  unavoidable,  flowing  from  the  whole 
scope  of  the  record  and  each  element  in  its  detail,  that  Adam 
was  gifted  with  a  fund  of  knowledge  sweeping  over  the  fields 
of  natural  science;  comprehending  the  productive  powers  of  the 
earth,  and  the  modes  of  their  development;  the  nature  and 
habits,  the  qualities  and  uses,  of  herbs,  plants  and  trees,  of  fish, 
animals  and  birds ;  and,  in  the  sphere  of  moral  science,  knowing 
as  perfectly  as  finite  mind  can  know  the  infinite  God,  as  the 
triune  Maker,  Lord  and  Lawgiver  of  all ;  understanding  his 
own  relations  to  God,  to  his  wife  and  their  seed,  to  the  world 
and  the  creatures ;  knowing  the  law  alike  in  the  rectitude  of  its 
authority,  the  comprehensiveness  and  excellence  of  its  precepts, 
and  the  righteousness  and  terribleness  of  its  curse ;  and  appre- 
ciating the  full  excellence  of  the  terms  of  the  covenant  and  the 
richness  of  its  grace. 

The  knowledge,  moreover,  which  we  thus  discover  in  Adam, 
was  infinitely  superior  to  any  possible  present  attainments  of  his 
fallen  posterity,  in  respect  to  the  fact  that  with  them  there  is  no 
truth,  in  any  even  the  exactest  science,  the  glory  of  which  is  not 
obscured,  in  their  reception  of  it,  by  the  intermixture  of  error,  so 
that,  truly  and  strictly  speaking,  they,even  in  the  proudest  achieve- 
ments of  science,  at  last  know  nothing  as  it  really  is.  On  the 
contrary,  the  soul  of  Adam  being  undefiled  with  sin  and  unbe- 
clouded  with  falsehood,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  his  only  teacher, 
whatever  he  learned,  of  God,  his  law  and  his  works,  was  learned 
in  its  virgin  purity  and  perfect  truth. 

Such  are  the  conclusions  to  which  we  are  led; — conclusions  in- 
evitable, unless  we  are  prepared  to  accept  the  alternative,  that 
the  pure  words  of  God  were  to  Adam  mere  empty  and  unintelli- 
gible sounds,  mocking  his  unconscious  ignorance  and  imbecility 
by  a  semblance  of  instruction  which  they  failed  to  impart,  and 


182  T/ie  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

by  presupposing  in  him  a  knowledge  which  he  could  not  pos- 
sess ; — that,  unable  to  understand  either  the  extent  of  his  privi- 
leges or  the  nature  of  his  obligations,  he  was  precluded  from 
using  the  one,  and  incompetent  to  sustain  the  other ; — that,  thus 
incapable  of  perfect  obedience,  he  was  irresponsible  for  the 
failure;  and  that,  by  consequence,  his  fall  demands  our  pity, 
rather  than  detestation,  and  the  calamities  thence  entailed  on 
him  and  his  seed,  whether  viewed  as  consequential  or  penal, 
whether  measured  by  that  eternal  wrath  which  God's  word  pro- 
claims, or  limited  to  temporal  evils,  as  false  philosophy  teaches, 
so  far  from  displaying  or  being  consistent  with  infinite  holiness 
and  rectitude  in  man's  Lawgiver  and  Judge,  are  the  climax  of 
injustice  and  oppression  !     Forbid  it,  every  pious  heart ! 

Righteousness  and  holiness  constituted  additional  elements  in 
Adam's  likeness  to  God;  as  appears  from  the  language  of  Paul 
zw.Righteous-  to  the  Ephesians,  in  which  he  exhorts  them  to  "put 
ness  and  holi-  on  the  new  man,  which  after  God  is  created  in 
ne8S'  righteousness  and  true  holiness." — Eph.  iv.  24.    It 

has  been  disputed  wherein  consists  the  precise  distinction  here 
held  forth  between  righteousness  and  holiness,  or  whether  they 
are  not  pleonastic  repetitions  of  the  same  idea.  Without  at- 
tempting any  very  rigid  discrimination,  it  may,  however,  be 
stated,  that  righteousness  is  that  aspect  of  moral  excellence 
which  looks  toward  the  law,  and  consists,  therefore,  in  conform- 
ity to  its  precepts ;  whilst  holiness,  in  a  creature,  has  its  aspect 
toward  God,  and  consists  in  adoring  delight  in  his  perfections, 
and  in  conformity  of  the  affections  and  powers  to  his  likeness. 
Adam's  original  righteousness  consisted  in  the  predisposition  of 
his  nature  to  an  entire  acquiescence  in  the  will  of  God  as  sove- 
reign,— to  a  free  conformity  with  whatever  God  required  of  him, 
and  a  perfect  symmetry  and  harmony  of  all  the  powers  of  his 
being,  adapted  to  the  law  and  ready  to  fulfil  all  its  precepts ; — a 
righteousness,  this,  inherent  in  his  nature,  and  which  developed 
itself  in  works  of  perfect  obedience,  the  instant  he  entered  upon 
the  sphere  of  action.  His  holiness  consisted  in  a  conformity  of 
all  his  affections  and  dispositions  to  the  likeness  of  God  as  the 
Holy  One,  and  an  ardour  of  the  whole  being  toward  him  as 


sect,  xv.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  183 

the  consummate  excellence; — a  native  temper  which  induced  "an 
acquiescing  in  God  as  the  supreme  truth,  revering  him  as  the 
most  dread  majesty,  loving  him  as  the  chief  and  only  good,  and, 
for  the  sake  of  him,  holding  dear  whatever  his  mind,  divinely 
taught,  dictated  to  him  to  be  acceptable,  like  to  and  expressive 
of  his  perfections;  in  fine,  whatever  contributed  to  acquiring 
an  intimate  and  immediate  union  with  him ;  delighting  in  the 
fellowship  of  his  God  which  was  now  allowed  him ;  panting  for 
further  communion ;  raising  himself  thereto  by  the  creatures, 
as  so  many  steps ;  and,  finally,  celebrating  the  most  unspotted 
holiness  of  God,  as  the  most  perfect  transcript  of  him,  accord- 
ing to  which  he  was  to  strive  with  his  utmost  might  to  frame 
himself  and  his  actions."* 

The  original  righteousness  of  Adam  is  distinctly  asserted  by 
the  Preacher  : — "  Lo,  this  only  have  I  found,  that  God  made 
man  (Heb.  Adam)  upright;  but  they  have  sought  out  many 
inventions," — Eccl.  vii.  29 ;  language  equally  relevant  to  our 
purpose,  though  it  be  admitted  that  it  is  not  designed  of  Adam 
individually,  but  of  the  race  as  generically  embodied  in  his  person, 
in  whom  alone  it  has  ever  been  upright.  His  righteousness  is 
also  incontrovertibly  implied  in  the  attestation  to  his  character 
uttered  at  the  time  of  his  creation.  He,  being  made  a  moral 
agent,  "  the  image  and  glory  of  God,"  (1  Cor.  xi.  7,)  was  de- 
signed as  the  ruler,  whose  office  it  should  be  to  control  and  use 
the  other  creatures  to  the  service  and  glory  of  the  Creator, 
whilst  displaying  in  his  own  person  the  brightness  of  the  Cre- 
ator's perfect  image.  If,  then,  the  approving  decision,  by  which 
God,  as  it  was  formed,  pronounced  each  creature  "good,"  was  a 
pledge  of  their  several  fitness  for  the  spheres  to  which  they 
were  assigned, — the  final  attestation,  passed  after  the  creation  of 
man  had  crowned  the  whole,  upon  a  survey  of  all  the  now  com- 
pleted work,  set  the  same  seal  of  excellence  to  his  nature,  in 
view  of  the  station  to  which  he  was  destined.  "  God  saw  every 
thing  that  he  had  made,  and  behold,  it  was  very  good." — 
Gen.  i.  31.  Such  language  is  an  infallible  pledge  of  Adam's 
perfect  fitness  for  the  place  and  office  for  which  he  was  created, 

*  Witsius'  (Economy  of  the  Covenants,  book  i.  ch.  ii.  \  15. 


184  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

as  the  image  of  God,  the  possessor  of  the  world  and  the  ruler 
of  the  creatures ; — a  fitness  to  which  rectitude  of  nature  and  life, 
and  holiness  of  heart,  were  undeniably  essential. 

Another  element  of  the  image  of  God  in  Adam,  was  his 
position,  in  the  dominion  of  the  world  and  the  creatures ;  and 
%  17.  Adam's  that  endowment  of  authority  which  they  recognised 
dominion.  in  his  person  and  voice.     To  man,  at  present,  all  is 

Recapinda-  -m  revoitj  the  result  of  his  revolt  from  God.  The 
elements  assail  him.  The  earth  gives  thorns  and 
thistles  for  his  toil.  The  treacherous  air  instils  death  in  his 
veins ;  and  the  animal  tribes  lie  in  wait  for  his  blood,  or  fly  from 
his  presence  with  distrust  and  dread.  But  it  was  not  so  at  the 
beginning.  For  Adam  all  were  made,  and  to  him  assigned  in 
the  decree  for  his  creation.  The  world's  whole  structure  was 
framed  for  his  convenience,  and  all  its  creatures  placed  under 
his  hand  in  a  dominion,  the  only  limit  of  which  was  the  ultimate 
sovereignty  of  the  infinite  Maker.  The  elements  were  in  his 
alliance ;  and  the  earth  brought  in  tribute  the  fatness  of  its 
virgin  soil,  and  the  spontaneous  abundance  of  its  luscious  fruits ; 
whilst  around  him  carolled  the  feathered  tribes,  and  before  him 
trooped  the  animal  throng,  yielding  loyal  allegiance  and  fearless 
trust. 

"About  them  frisking  played 
All  beasts  of  the  earth,  since  'wild;  and  of  all  chase, 
In  wood  or  'wilderness,  forest  or  den ; 
Sporting  the  lion  romped,  and  in  his  paw 
Dandled  the  kid ;  bears,  tigers,  ounces,  pards, 
Gambolled  before  them  ;   the  unwieldy  elephant, 
To  make  them  mirth,  used  all  his  might,  and  wreathed 
His  lithe  proboscis  ;  close  the  serpent,  sly, 
Insinuating,  wove,  with  Gordian  twine, 
His  braided  train,  and  of  his  fatal  guile 
Gave  proof  unheeded." — Paradise  Lost,  Book  iv. 

Thus  have  we  traced  the  lineaments  of  the  divine  likeness 
which  was  in  Adam,  as  he  came  from  the  hands  of  his  Maker. 
He  was  surrounded  by  every  circumstance  which  could  serve  to 
signalize  and  proclaim  him  the  topstone  and  crown  of  the  creation 
of  God.    "  Created  by  the  special  council  and  care  of  the  blessed 


sect,  xvi.]  Adam  the  Likeness  of  God.  185 

Trinity,  he  was  made  the  end  of  all  the  creatures ;  they  all  for 
him ;  and,  therefore,  he  last  of  all.  He  was,  in  a  peculiar  man- 
ner, formed  to  the  glory  of  his  Maker ;  as  he  who,  of  all  the 
creatures,  could  recognise,  celebrate  and  respond  to  the  wisdom, 
power  and  goodness  of  the  Creator ;  so  that,  without  man,  all 
else  had  been  created  in  vain.  He  was  an  epitome  and  compen- 
dium of  the  universe ;  representing  the  spiritual  world  by  his 
soul,  and  the  corporeal  by  his  body.  His  body  was  formed  as  it 
were  by  the  very  fingers  of  God ;  and  hence  was  admirable  in 
the  elegant  proportion  of  its  members,  in  its  elastic  vigour,  and 
its  aptitude  for  the  service  of  God  and  of  the  soul.  His  soul  was, 
in  its  nature,  spiritual,  celestial,  divine,  indivisible,  incorrupti- 
ble, immortal,  akin  to  the  angels, — yea,  to  God  himself."* 

Invested  with  the  choicest  gifts,  his  body  was  the  masterpiece 
of  the  material  creation  ;  and  his  soul  shone,  in  uncompanioned 
brightness,  sole  occupant  of  the  moral  world.  Begotten  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  his  endowments  were  worthy  of  his  origin ;  con- 
sisting in  the  noblest  powers  of  intellect,  and  the  richest  re- 
sources of  knowledge,  the  law  of  God  written  on  his  heart,  the 
glory  of  God  revealed  to  his  conscience,  and  his  whole  nature 
clothed  in  perfect  rectitude  and  spotless  holiness ;  and  his  free 
will,  the  efficient  cause  of  all  his  actions,  declaring  the  moral 
attitude  of  his  nature,  and  proclaiming  the  affinities  of  his  soul. 
His  name,  the  organization  of  his  body,  and  the  endowments  of 
his  soul,  the  whole  structure  of  his  being,  and  constitution  of 
his  nature,  had  hidden  reference  to  the  coming  of  the  second 
Adam.  They  were  constructed,  not  only  as  a  present  irradia- 
tion of  God's  likeness,  but  in  adaptation  to  that  secret  counsel 
by  which  the  Son  of  the  Highest  was  from  everlasting  ordained 
to  become  the  Son  of  man,  to  assume  part  in  man's  nature; 
and,  whilst  hiding  the  lustre  of  the  Godhead  under  the  veil  of 
human  flesh,  to  constitute  that  veil  a  means  of  shedding  forth  a 
still  clearer  radiance  of  the  divine  perfections,  and  of  displaying 
a  likeness  in  which  an  adoring  universe  and  a  ransomed  world 
should  behold  "the  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory,  and  the 
express  image  of  his  person," — the  "image  of  the  invisible  God." 

*  Van  Mastricht  Theologia,  lib.  iii.  cap.  ix.  12. 


186  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  iv. 

Such  was  Adam  in  the  day  of  his  creation.  No  immature 
capacities  dishonoured  his  inauguration;  no  imbecile  minority 
prefaced  his  reign.  He  was  created  a  king.  Majesty  shone  in 
every  line  of  his  face ;  dominion  sat  enthroned  in  the  expanse  of 
his  brow;  and  the  lessons  of  true  wisdom  were  inscribed  in  his 
heart.  God's  law  was  his  counsel  and  delight,  and  God's  glory 
his  business  and  joy.  Living  amid  a  creation  whose  varying 
scenes  and  shadows  were  an  unceasing  anthem  to  the  Creator, — 
whose  whole  frame  was  a  harp,  to  be  attuned  by  his  fingers  to 
still  sweeter  harmonies  and  loftier  strains, — his  happiness  was 
in  communion  with  Him  whose  honour  he  was  ordained  to  shed 
abroad  and  celebrate.  With  open  face,  as  man  with  his  fellow- 
man,  so  conversed  he  with  God;  and,  relying  on  the  terms  of  a 
covenant  "ordered  in  all  things  and  sure,"  he  anticipated  the 
lapse  of  a  little  season,  when,  his  probation  ended,  he  should 
pass  to  higher  spheres,  and  become  possessor  of  a  life  and  glory 
of  which  the  dominion  of  earth  and  the  habitation  of  Eden  were 
but  the  faintly-foreshadowing  pledge. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    LAW    OF    GOD. 

We  have  seen  the  successive  inauguration  of  the  universe  and 
of  man,  as  instrumentalities  designed  and  constructed  for  reveal - 
l  l.  God  our  ing  the  glory  of  the  Triune  God.  To  the  same  end, 
Sovereign.  an(^  signally  important  and  luminous  in  the  light  of 
God's  manifested  perfections,  is  his  holy  law. 

It  is  evident  that  the  exercise  of  a  universal,  absolute  and 
unchangeable  sovereignty,  by  some  being,  is  necessary  to  the 
harmony  and  happiness, — nay,  to  the  very  existence,  of  the  uni- 
verse which  God  has  made.  The  Creator  must  be  that  sovereign. 
No  other  being  has  one  requisite  for  the  office.  The  very  act 
of  creation,  implying,  as  it  does,  some  suitable  end  to  be  at- 
tained, brings  the  Creator  under  obligation  to  his  own  wisdom 
to  give  his  creatures  such  laws  as  will  guide  them  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  that  end ;  whether  they  be  enstamped  upon  the  very 
essence  of  the  creature,  as  in  the  case  of  the  material  elements; 
attached  to  the  organic  structure,  as  in  the  vegetable  creation 
and  animal  tribes;  or  inscribed  on  the  heart  and  made  known 
to  the  understanding,  as  in  man  and  the  angelic  hosts. 

We  instinctively  perceive  it  to  be  a  matter  of  supreme  obliga- 
tion upon  every  intelligent  creature  to  appreciate  and  honour 
the  Being  by  whose  wisdom,  power  and  goodness,  existence 
with  all  its  blessings  was  conferred  and  is  continued.  Since 
all  that  a  creature  has,  whether  of  being  and  powers  or  of  pos- 
sessions and  time,  is  received  from  the  Creator,  and  enjoyed 
from  hour  to  hour  as  the  gratuity  of  his  bounty, — every  one  must 
feel  that  no  obligation  can  be  more  complete  or  comprehensive 
than  that  which  binds  him  to  render  his  all  to  the  Author  of  his 
being, — making  subservient  to  this  consideration  every  thought 

187 


188  The  EJolilm  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

and  act,  every  emotion  and  affection  of  the  sonl;  constituting 
the  will  of  the  Creator  the  invariable  rule,  and  his  glory  the 
supreme  and  all-pervading  motive.  New  relations  may  add 
new  force  to  the  obligations  thus  already  existing ;  but  they  can- 
not be  expanded  to  any  wider  compass.  All  is  already  due ;  and 
beyond  this  no  title  can  be  extended,  whilst  less  than  this  no 
possible  circumstances  will  justify  or  excuse.  God,  our  pre- 
server and  benefactor,  unfolds  to  us,  in  the  daily  exercise  of  his 
goodness,  new  arguments,  challenging  our  gratitude  and  love. 
Yet  these  can  demand  no  more  than  that  entire  devotion  which 
was  already  the  Creator's  right,  prior  to  any  such  experience. 
Were  we  to  see  a  person  in  peril  of  death,  from  which  we  have 
power  to  rescue  him,  the  obligation  to  use  our  power  becomes 
at  once  complete.  Should  the  party  in  danger  prove  to  be  a 
friend  and  benefactor,  the  duty  remains  precisely  the  same, 
although  the  motives  of  a  common  humanity  are  now  enforced 
by  the  superadded  claims  of  gratitude  and  love.  So,  we  continu- 
ally receive  from  God  benefits  and  favours,  which  add  increasing 
force  to  a  Creator's  claims.  But  the  right  of  God,  as  Creator, 
can  never  be  expanded  by  any  subsequent  transaction  to  a  wider 
scope. 

The  ultimate  sovereignty  thus  attributed  to  God  as  Creator  is 
extensively  denied.  Particularly  by  the  Hopkinsian  school  of 
I  2.  ffop&ins-  divines  are  positions  assumed,  which  are  entirely 
ian  theory.  irreconcilable  with  it.  An  undefined  and  incompre- 
hensible something,  known  as  "the  nature  of  things,"  is  supposed 
to  exist,  back  of  the  very  being  of  God  himself,  and  independent 
of  him;  which  constitutes  the  ultimate  rule,  endowed  with  su- 
preme obligation  alike  over  God  and  the  creatures;  conformity 
with  which  constitutes  God  the  Holy  One,  and  deflection  from 
which  would  abrogate  his  authority.  Both  Edwards  and  Bel- 
lamy, whilst  they  would  have  recoiled  with  indignation  from  the 
style  of  expression,  often  used  by  later  writers,  seem  essentially 
to  have  held  this  opinion.  Bellamy  says  that  God  by  his  infinite 
understanding  "is  perfectly  acquainted  with  himself  and  with 
all  his  intelligent  creatures;  and  so,  perfectly  knows  what  con- 
duct in  him  toward  them  is  right,  fit  and  amiable,  and  such  as 


sect,  i.]  The  Laic  of  God  189 

becomes  such  a  one  as  he  is;  and  also  perfectly  knows  what  con- 
duct in  his  creatures  towards  him,  and  towards  each  other,  is  fit 
and  amiable,  and  so  their  duty.  He  sees  what  is  right,  and  in- 
finitely loves  it,  because  it  is  right.  He  sees  what  is  wrong,  and 
infinitely  hates  it,  because  it  is  wrong;  and  in  his  whole  conduct 
as  Governor  of  the  world,  he  appears  to  be  just  what  he  is  at 
heart, — an  infinite  friend  to  right,  and  an  infinite  enemy  to 
wrong."  "As  to  all  his  positive  injunctions,  they  are  evidently 
designed  to  promote  a  conformity  to  the  moral  law.  And  as  to 
the  moral  law,  it  is  originally  founded  upon  the  very  reason  and 
nature  of  things.  The  duties  required  therein  are  required,  ori- 
ginally, because  they  are  right  in  themselves.  And  the  sins  for- 
bidden, are  forbidden,  originally,  because  they  are  unfit  and 
wrong  in  themselves.  The  intrinsic  fitness  of  the  things  required, 
and  the  intrinsic  unfitness  of  the  things  forbidden,  was  the  ori- 
ginal ground,  reason  and  foundation  of  the  law."* 

To  the  same  purpose  is  the  language  of  Edwards.  "  There  is 
a  circumstantial  difference  between  the  moral  agency  of  a  ruler 
and  a  subject.  I  call  it  circumstantial,  because  it  lies  only  in 
the  difference  of  moral  inducements  they  are  capable  of  being 
influenced  by,  arising  from  the  difference  of  circumstances.  A 
ruler,  acting  in  that  capacity  only,  is  not  capable  of  being  influ- 
enced by  a  moral  law,  and  its  sanctions  of  threatenings  and  pro- 
mises, rewards  and  punishments,  as  the  subject  is;  though  both 
may  be  influenced  by  a  knowledge  of  moral  good  and  evil.  And 
therefore  the  moral  agency  of  the  Supreme  Being,  who  acts 
only  in  the  capacity  of  a  ruler  towards  his  creatures,  and  never 
as  a  subject,  differs  in  that  respect  from  the  moral  agency  of 
created,  intelligent  beings.  God's  actions,  and  particularly  those 
which  are  to  be  attributed  to  him  as  moral  governor,  are  morally 
good  in  the  highest  degree.  They  are  most  perfectly  holy  and 
righteous ;  and  we  must  conceive  of  Him  as  influenced  in  the 
highest  degree,  by  that  which  above  all  others  is  properly  a 
moral  inducement,  viz.,  the  moral  good  which  He  sees  in  such 
and  such  things:  and  therefore  He  is,  in  the  proper  sense,  a 


*  Bellamy's  True  Religion  Delineated,  sect.  2. 


190  g  The  Elolvhn  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

moral  agent,  the  source  of  all  moral  ability  and  agency,  the 
fountain  and  rule  of  all  virtue  and  moral  good;  though  by  reason 
of  his  being  supreme  over  all,  it  is  not  possible  He  should  be 
under  the  influence  of  law  or  command,  promises  or  threatenings, 
rewards  or  punishments,  counsels  or  warnings.  The  essential 
qualities  of  a  moral  agent  are  in  God,  in  the  greatest  possible 
perfection;  such  as,  understanding  to  perceive  the  difference 
between  moral  good  and  evil;  a  capacity  of  discerning  that 
moral  worthiness  and  demerit,  by  which  some  things  are  praise- 
worthy, others  deserving  of  blame  and  punishment;  and  also  a 
capacity  of  choice,  and  choice  guided  by  understanding,  and  a 
power  of  acting  according  to  his  choice  or  pleasure,  and  being 
capable  of  doing  those  things  which  are  in  the  highest  sense 
praiseworthy."*  Later  divines  of  the  Hopkinsian  school,  have 
taught,  in  addition,  that,  "as  moral  agents,  we  are  capable  of 
knowing  the  relation  in  which  we  stand  to  our  Creator  and 
moral  Governor,  and  how  he  ought  to  treat  us,"  and  "when  his 
treatment  of  us  is  just  and  right."  Of  this  theory,  Dr.  Edward 
Beecher  will,  after  a  little,  present  abundant  illustration. 

These  doctrines  seem  to  have  gained  nearly  universal  cur- 
rency in  the  Congregational  churches;  and  are  admitted  to  the 
position  of  unquestioned  and  ultimate  truths.  It  has  long  been 
occasion  of  painful  surprise  to  those  who  love  the  doctrines  of 
the  Reformation,  that  those  churches  have  shown  a  tendency,  so 
general,  to  depart  from  the  faith  which  their  fathers  cherished, 
and,  in  defence  of  which,  they  endured  persecution  and  exile; — 
that  the  scriptural  doctrines  of  their  ancient  confession  have 
so  slight  a  hold  on  the  sons  of  the  pilgrims;  whilst  every  new 
form  of  error  finds  a  cordial  welcome  and  congenial  home. 
We  think  reflection  must  convince  the  intelligent  and  candid 
mind,  that  the  dogmas  which  we  have  just  enumerated  consti- 
tute one  leading  element  in  the  clew  to  the  mystery.  These, 
releasing  the  minds  of  men  from  the  restraints  of  God's  law, 
refer  them  to  "the  light  of  reason,"  and  "the  nature  of  things," 
to  know  what  is  truth  and  duty.     It  is,  therefore,  no  wonder, 

*  Edwards  on  the  Will,  Part  I.  sect.  5. 


sect,  ii.]  The  Lair  of  God.  191 

that  the  theology  of  Calvin,  of  Augustine  and  Paul,  the  motto 
of  which  is,  "Faith  before  reason,"  should  be  rejected,  the  ra- 
tionalism of  Pelagius  be  embraced,  and  the  atheistic  tendencies 
thereto  appropriate  be  developed.  It  is  no  wonder,  that, — the 
lamp  of  truth,  the  word  of  God,  being  disparaged,  and  reason 
enthroned  in  a  proud  self-sufficiency, — men  should  be  left  to 
wild  and  fanatical  aberrations  from  the  path  of  reason,  and  an 
utter  obscuration  of  the  light  of  truth. 

The  authority  of  the  "  nature  of  things"  is  fully  set  forth 
by  the  author  of  "  The  Conflict  of  Ages,"  who,  by  its  aid,  has 
a  3  Beecher's  attempted  in  that  work  the  tremendous  task  of  sup- 
"  Conflict  of  plementing  the  Scriptures  on  the  subject  of  original 
Ages."  gin>     ^s  ^Y\q  work  of  Dr.  Beecher  is  a  recent  and 

elaborate  exposition  and  vindication  of  this  doctrine,  we  will 
examine  some  of  his  leading  positions.  In  laying  down  his  fun- 
damental principles,  he  asks,  "  How  could  we  ever  correctly  judge 
of  the  honour  or  rectitude  of  God's  conduct,  if  the  standard  of  ho- 
nour and  rectitude  revealed  by  him,  in  the  structure  of  our  minds, 
did  not  agree  with  his  own  standard  on  the  same  points  ?  Such  a 
state  of  things  would  lay  the  foundation  of  necessary  and  eternal 
discord  between  him  and  us,  and  that  on  the  most  important  of 
all  practical  questions.  We  must,  therefore,  of  necessity  assume 
not  only  that  there  are  judgments  concerning  honour  and  right 
which  God  has  made  the  human  mind  to  form  with  intuitive  cer- 
tainty, but  that  they  are  common  to  God  and  to  man.  This  is  a 
fundamental  doctrine  of  the  Bible.  To  test  any  alleged  acts  of 
God  by  such  principles,  is  not  improper  rationalizing.  God  not 
only  authorizes  it,  but  even  enjoins  it  as  a  sacred  duty.  To 
this  point  I  call  special  attention. 

"  It  is  no  less  plain  that,  whatever  these  principles  are,  their 
authority  is  supreme.  No  considerations  of  mere  expediency  or 
policy,  whether  individual  or  general,  if  opposed  to  them,  ought 
to  have  any  force;  nor  with  God  can  they  have  any  force. 
Though  there  is  above  him  neither  judge  nor  judgment  to  which 
he  is  responsible,  yet  he  has  in  his  own  mind  an  eternal  and  im- 
mutable law  of  honour  and  right,  which  he  cannot  disregard ;  and 
he  is  his  own  omniscient  judge.     Should  he  not  follow  his  own 


192  The  EloUm  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

convictions  of  honour  and  of  right,  he  could  not  retain  his  own 
self-respect,  but  would  experience  infinite  self-condemnation  and 
remorse  :  he  would  be  the  most  miserable  beina;  in  the  universe. 
It  is,  therefore,  an  infinite  necessity  in  God's  own  nature,  that 
he  should  obey  the  laws  of  honour  and  of  right;  and  beyond  all 
doubt  he  ever  has  and  ever  will."* 

"What,  then,  are  the  principles  of  honour  and  right  on  the  va- 
rious points  which  we  have  specified  ?"f  In  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion, Dr.  Beecher  proceeds  through  half  a  dozen  pages  to  enume- 
rate and  expound  as  many  different  principles,  which  constitute 
the  fundamental  axiomata  of  his  work.  Our  present  remarks  will 
relate  to  the  bearing  of  this  doctrine  upon  the  authority  of  God, 
and  the  origin  of  moral  distinctions.  Another  phase  of  the  same 
doctrine  will  hereafter  be  considered  in  connection  with  the  per- 
mission of  moral  evil  in  the  world. 

It  is  not  unusual  or  improper  to  speak  of  God  being  bound  to 
one  or  other  of  his  attributes,  when  all  that  is  meant  is,  that 
the  given  attribute,  being  a  characteristic  of  the  divine  nature, 
involves  the  certainty  that  he  will  act  in  accordance  with  it. 
So  also  the  phrase,  "  a  necessity  of  the  divine  nature,"  by  which 
is  meant  no  control  over  the  divine  freedom,  but  the  certainty 
by  which  we  know  that  the  Holy  One  will  act  in  accordance 
with  his  holiness  or  other  attributes;  that  is,  will  be  himself. 
All  such  forms  of  expression  are,  however,  to  be  confined 
within  limits  consistent  with  the  constant  recognition  of  the 
cardinal  fact  that  the  attributes  thus  signalized  are  but  so  many 
aspects  in  which  God,  in  consideration  of  our  infirm  and  limited 
capacities,  has  condescended  to  unfold  to  us  the  glory  of  his  in- 
divisible essence.  The  justice  of  God  is  not  something  inhering 
in  the  divine  nature  and  having  a  subsistence  distinct  from  his 
love,  wisdom  or  power.  It  is  nothing  but  the  unity  of  the 
divine  nature,  viewed  in  one  of  its  relations  to  the  actions  of 
accountable  creatures.  His  power  and  wisdom  are  that  nature 
viewed  in  certain  relations  to  the  creation  and  government  of 
his  works.  And  so  of  the  other  attributes.  So  also  the  names 
of  God,  and  the  various  titles  which  he  assumes,  are  designations 

*  Conflict  of  Ages,  p.  27.  f  Ibid.  p.  31. 


sect,  in.]  The  Law  of  God.  193 

to  be  used  under  similar  limitation.  This  enunciation  of  an  ele- 
mentary truth  in  mental  philosophy  and  theology  may  be 
thought  superfluous  here.  And  yet,  undoubtedly,  the  statements 
above  quoted  are  founded  in,  and  derive  their  whole  plausibility 
from,  an  entire  forgetfulness  of  it.  It  is  impossible  to  reduce  them 
to  terms  of  this  principle,  which  shall  not  present  them  in  direct 
contradiction  and  naked  absurdity.  Look,  for  example,  at  the 
second  paragraph  of  the  quotations  above  cited : — "  It  is  no  less 
plain  that,  whatever  these  principles  are,  their  authority  is 
supreme,"  &c.  The  only  interpretation  which  can  save  this  lan- 
guage from  a  reduction  to  atheism,  is  that  which  would  explain 
the  phrase,  "an  eternal  and  immutable  law  of  honour  and  right," 
to  mean  nothing  but  the  divine  holiness ;  that  is,  in  other  words, 
the  essential  nature  of  God  himself;  to  which  also  the  pronoun 
"he"  refers.  But  this  converts  the  whole  into  a  jumble  of  non- 
sense, whilst  it  very  partially  relieves  it  of  the  irreverence 
which  stands  out  so  conspicuously  on  the  face  of  the  passage. 
By  the  phrase,  "the  principles  of  honour  and  right,"  how- 
ever, the  writer  does  not  design  to  signify  the  nature  or  essence 
of  God.  They  are  certain  "rules,"  "dictates,"  or  "laws,"  of 
which  he  predicates  the  following  characteristics  : — 

1.  They  are  reducible  to  formal  statement.  The  author  enu- 
merates six  of  them. 

2.  They  are  of  supreme  and  controlling  obligation  over  all 
intelligent  beings,  including  God  himself.  "  Does  any  one  allege 
his  right  as  Creator  to  do  as  he  will  with  his  creatures  ?  Within 
certain  limits  he  has  this  right.  But  creation  gives  no  right  to 
the  Creator  to  disregard  or  to  undervalue  the  well-being  of 
creatures,  or  to  treat  them  contrary  to  the  laws  of  their  intel- 
lectual, moral  and  voluntary  nature,  on  the  ground  that  he 
created  them."* 

3.  The  obligations  which  they  impose  upon  God  and  the 
creatures  are  alike  and  in  common.  "  Some,  when  pressed  by 
their  application  to  certain  alleged  acts  of  God,  have  denied  that 
they  are  common  alike  to  God  and  to  man,  and  alike  binding  on 


*  Conflict,  p.  Zi 
13 


194  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

both.     Concerning  this  view,  I  would  say  with  emphasis,  that  it 
is  a  most  unfounded  and  pernicious  position."* 

4.  They  are  enforced  by  penal  sanctions,  of  a  competence  to 
reach  even  to  God  himself.  See  the  language  already  quoted  : — 
"  He  is  his  own  omniscient  judge,"  &c. 

5.  Whilst  man  himself  is  to  be  tried  by  them,  he,  in  turn,  is 
bound  by  them  to  judge  his  Creator.  "  God  himself  enjoins  it 
on  men,  as  a  sacred  duty,  to  judge  by  them.  He  does  not  feel 
honoured  by  any  defence  which  disregards  them.  Nay,  he  admits 
that  his  own  conduct  is  amenable  to  judgment  by  these  prin- 
ciples, and  defends  himself  by  an  appeal  to  the  same."  "  To  test 
any  alleged  acts  of  God  by  such  principles,  is  not  improper 
rationalizing.  God  not  only  authorizes,  but  even  enjoins  it  as  a 
sacred  duty.    To  this  point  I  call  special  attention. "f 

It  is  to  be  observed  in  regard  to  these  propositions,  that  not 
only  the  phrases  used  to  designate  the  "principles,"  "dictates," 
M  He  sets  or  "laws,"  but  every  position  assumed  respecting 
fate  above  them,  implies  an  origin  and  existence  independent 
GmL  of  Jehovah,  and  an  endowment  of  supremacy  over 

him.  They  are  not  principles  decreed  in  sovereignty  and  free- 
dom by  the  Creator,  for  the  ordering  of  his  works,  and  the 
guidance  of  his  creatures;  but  such  as  even  creative  authority 
is  not  entitled  to  disregard.  Only  "within  certain  limits" — the 
limits  of  these  principles — "  has  he  a  right  to  do  what  he  will 
with  his  own."  A  necessity  is  laid  upon  him,  if  he  form  creation 
at  all,  to  form  and  govern  it  by  these  rules,  under  penalty  of 
self-reproach  and  misery,  and  the  insubordination  of  the  crea- 
tures,— "  necessary  and  eternal  discord  between  him  and  us ; 
and  that  on  the  most  important  of  all  practical  questions."  But 
who  is  that  Supreme,  by  whom  these  laws  are  ordained,  and  this 
penalty  inflicted;  and  before  whose  bar  mortals  are  required  to 
cite  God  to  account?  Who  fixed  it  so  that  "God  ought  to  be 
regulated  in  his  dealings  with  his  creatures"  by  these  principles; 
so  that  he  as  Creator  "has  no  right"  to  go  beyond  the  bound- 
aries thus  set  to  him?  If  it  is  pretended  that  God  himself  is 
the  author  of  this  law,  we  then  ask, — How  is  it  any  thing  else 
*  Conflict,  p.  26.  f  Ibid.  pp.  26,  27. 


sect,  in.]  The  Lata  of  God.  195 

than  absurd,  to  suppose  him  under  a  necessary  obligation  to  a 
law  of  his  own  ordaining ;  in  the  light  of  which  he  is  viewed  as 
at  once  lawgiver  and  transgressor,  judge,  executioner  and  victim; 
inflicting  on  himself  a  penalty  described  in  terms  too  shocking  to 
repeat  ?  Let  it  not  be  argued,  that  the  case  is  an  impossible  one ; 
— that  "it  is  an  infinite  necessity  in  God's  nature,  that  he  should 
obey  the  laws  of  honour  and  right;"  and  that  therefore  the  theory 
is  not  responsible  for  the  contradictions  thus  indicated.  The  ne- 
cessity thus  asserted,  is,  not  only  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  but  in 
terms,  defined  to  be  a  penal  necessity.  "It  is,  therefore," — be- 
cause, "should  he  not  follow  his  own  convictions  of  honour  and 
right,  he  could  not  retain  his  own  self-respect,"  &c. — "therefore," 
the  necessity  above  stated.  The  case,  then,  of  transgression,  and 
the  consequent  relation  of  God  to  himself,  as  judge  and  defendant, 
executioner  and  victim,  is  not  only  supposable,  but  is  actually 
supposed,  as  the  alternative  in  the  law, — as  the  argument  en- 
forcing obedience.  The  authority  which  imposes  these  obliga- 
tions on  the  Holy  One,  is  said  to  be  "in  his  own  mind,  an  eter- 
nal and  immutable  law  of  honour  and  right."  Is  this  at  all 
distinguishable  from  the  grossest  form  of  stoical  philosophy, 
which  described  Jove  as  ruling  in  subordination  to  an  eternal 
fate,  in  accordance  with  which  Herodotus  does  not  shrink  from 
saying  that  "  Jove  himself  could  not  avoid  his  destiny"  ?  Pre- 
ferable even,  is  the  language  of  Seneca : — Eadem  necessitas  et 
Deos  alligat ;  irrevocabilis  divina  pariter,  atque  humana  cursus 
vehit.  Hie  ipse,  omnium  conditor  ac  rector,  scripsit  quidem 
Fata,  sed  sequitur.  Semper  paret;  semel  jussit.  "The  same 
necessity  binds  even  the  Gods ;  inevitable  destiny  bears  along 
every  thing,  alike  divine  and  human.  The  Creator  and  ruler  of 
all,  himself,  indeed,  inscribed  the  Fates ;  but  follows  their  gui- 
dance.    Forever  he  obeys;  once  only  he  decreed."* 

Whilst  God  is  exhibited,  in  this  scheme,  in  the  bonds  of  some 
fatal  Destiny,  or  superior  God;  on  the  other  hand,  man  is  by  it 
1 5.  This  doc-  released  from  subjection  to  his  authority.  He  may 
trine  infidel.  appeal  from  God  to  himself;  from  the  decrees  of  his 
Maker,  to  an  ultimate  arbiter,  which  sits  enthroned  in  his  own 

*  Opera  L.  Annsei  Senecoe  Lib.  De  Provideutia,  cap.  v. 


196  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

bosom,  in  the  form  of  the  intuitive  principles  of  honour  and 
right.  "They  are  common  alike  to  God  and  to  man,  and  alike 
binding  on  both."  "Their  authority  is  supreme."  By  them  it 
is  a  "sacred  duty"  to  test  the  character  and  conduct  of  God. 
The  law  and  word  of  God  is  thus  denied  to  possess  any  authority 
in  itself.  Only  as  far  as  it  may  be  found  in  harmony  with  the 
eternal  principles  is  it  to  be  obeyed.  Thus  have  we  followed 
these  vaunted  principles  to  their  legitimate  termination  in  the 
dark  abyss  of  atheism.  Any  obligations  still  recognised  as  due 
to  God,  are  strictly  mutual;  as  is  the  accountability;  and  to 
say,  after  this,  that  we  are  still  held  bound  to  obey  the  Almighty, 
is  a  mere  deception.  Not  he,  but  the  omnipotent  principles,  are 
to  be  obeyed;  and  should  Jehovah  be  imagined  by  the  miserable 
worm,  who  thus  assumes  the  office  of  inquisitor  and  judge  toward 
his  Creator,  to  have  violated  those  principles, — and  of  this,  man 
is  the  judge, — what  becomes  his  duty  then?  True,  our  author 
does  not  admit  the  possibility  of  such  conclusions.  True,  he 
asserts,  with  the  utmost  confidence,  that  "beyond  all  doubt  he 
ever  has  and  ever  will  obey  the  laws  of  honour  and  right."  But 
where  did  he  acquire  this  confidence?  Certainly  not  in  the  study 
of  those  "laws."  The  doctrine  of  our  author  renders  it  forever 
impossible  that  the  creatures  should  be  assured  of  the  perfection 
of  the  Most  High.  A  perfection  which  consists  in  conformity 
to  a  prescribed  standard  is  the  contradictory  of  perfection  per  se. 
It  is  a  contingent  and  not  a  necessary  perfection ;  and  can  only 
be  proved  to  exist,  when  some  being  is  found,  competent  to  com- 
prehend, infallibly  and  exhaustively,  the  law  of  reference  and 
the  infinite  nature  of  God.  Until  such  comparison  is  actually 
made,  the  supposed  perfection  of  God  must  remain  an  unresolved 
problem.  And  when  the  judge  is  found,  competent  to  the  office 
thus  indicated,  the  highest  result  to  which  it  is  possible  to  come, 
from  the  principles  here  set  up,  is  the  discovery  in  Jehovah  of  a 
finite  perfection, — a  perfection  subordinate  to  the  eternal  prin- 
ciples, and  determined  by  them.  Thus,  infinite  excellence — 
perfection  in  and  of  itself — is  attributed  to  the  imagined  law,  and 
denied  to  Jehovah.  But,  should  we  admit  Dr.  Beecher's  con- 
fidence in  the  perfection  of  God  to  be  well  founded,  to  what  pur- 


sect,  v.]  The  Law  of  God.  197 

pose  then  is  that  sacred  duty,  so  earnestly  enjoined  on  us,  to 
hold  God  answerable  to  the  principles,  and  judge  him  by  them? 
Are  we  to  set  out  in  this  responsible  duty  with  the  confidence  of 
Dr.  B.  as  the  fundamental  proposition  by  which  all  is  to  be  tried? 
What  then  becomes  of  "the  supreme  laws  of  honour  and  recti- 
tude"? If  the  doctrine  of  "The  Conflict"  is  true,  the  author  is 
imperatively  bound  to  hold  his  confidence,  so  freely  expressed, 
as  a  mere  private  opinion,  subject  to  correction  upon  further 
light.  For,  if  it  be  a  sacred  duty  to  judge  the  conduct  of  God, 
by  the  standard  of  these  "intuitive  perceptions  of  the  human 
mind,"  it  is  an  equally  sacred  duty  to  give  judgment,  not 
according  to  any  preconceived  opinions,  but  by  "the  law  and  the 
testimony."  In  fact,  the  very  announcement  of  such  a  precon- 
ception of  the  divine  conduct,  is  of  itself  a  dereliction  from  the 
duties  of  an  impartial  judge.  It  is  an  involuntary  tribute  to  the 
irresponsible  sovereignty  of  God,  extorted  from  the  heart  of  the 
author,  in  the  midst  of  his  oppositions  of  science,  falsely  so  called. 
The  doctrine  here  controverted  is  identical  with  that  of  the 
whole  company  of  modern  skeptics  and  infidels.  "We  recognise 
"the  principles  of  honour  and  right"  in  Paine's  "principles  of 
moral  justice,"  "ideas  of  moral  justice  and  benevolence,"  "the 
immutable  laws  of  science,"  "the  great  principles  of  divine 
morality,  justice  and  mercy,"  &c.  Reasoning  from  these  prin- 
ciples, the  blaspheming  infidel  attains  to  conclusions  differing 
from  those  recognised  and  urged  by  our  author,  only  in  this; — 
that,  whilst  the  former  altogether  rejects  the  word  of  God,  the 
latter  only  requires  that  where  its  testimony  differs  from  that 
of  his  "principles,"  it  shall  either  be  reduced  to  silence,  or  com- 
pelled to  frame  its  speech  after  the  Shibboleth  of  "honour  and 
right."  "There  have  been,  and  still  are,  those  who  think  so 
much  more  of  the  verbal  revelations  of  God,"  says  Dr.  B.,  "than 
of  any  other,  that  they  almost  overlook  the  fact  that  the  founda- 
tions of  all  possible  knowledge  have  been  laid  by  God  in  the 
consciousness  and  the  intuitive  perceptions  of  the  mind  itself. 
Forgetful  of  this  fact,  they  have  often,  by  unfounded  interpreta- 
tions of  Scripture,  done  violence  to  the  mind,  and  overruled  the 
decisions  made  by  God  himself  through  it;    and  then  sought 


198  The  Elohlm  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

shelter,  in  faith  and  mystery."*  "If  any  alleged  actions  of  God 
come  into  collision  with  the  natural  and  intuitive  judgments  of 
the  human  mind  concerning  what  is  honourable  and  right  on  the 
points  specified,  there  is  better  reason  to  call  in  question  the  alleged 
facts,  than  to  suppose  those  principles  to  be  false,  which  God  has 
made  the  human  mind  intuitively  to  recognise  as  true."f  For 
example,  when  the  patriarch  Abraham  was  commanded  to  sacrifice 
the  beloved  child  of  his  old  age,  "his  son,  his  only  son,  Isaac,"  so 
far  from  yielding  the  implicit  compliance  which  he  did  exercise, 
he  should  have  replied,  "The  intuitive  principles  of  honour  and 
right  forbid  it.  It  cannot  be  that  the  Holy  One  should  command 
an  act  of  unprovoked  murder.  It  cannot  be  that  God  should  com- 
mand an  affectionate  father  to  imbrue  his  hands  in  the  blood  of  his 
pious  and  obedient  son.  The  act  comes  into  collision  with  the  na- 
tural and  intuitive  judgments  of  my  mind  concerning  what  is  ho- 
nourable and  right  on  the  point  specified.  There  is  therefore  better 
reason  to  call  in  question  the  alleged  fact  that  God  so  commands, 
than  to  suppose  those  principles  to  be  false  which  God  has  made 
my  mind  intuitively  to  recognise  as  true.  Get  thee  behind  me, 
Satan,  for  thou  savourest  not  the  things  that  be  of  God!" 

But  with  these  compare  the  corresponding  positions  of  The 
Age  of  Reason.  "Instead  of  studying  theology,  as  is  now  done, 
out  of  the  Bible  and  Testament,  the  meanings  of  which  books 
are  always  controverted,  and  the  authenticity  of  which  is  dis- 
proved, it  is  necessary  that  we  refer  to  the  Bible  of  the  creation. 
The  principles  we  discover  there  are  eternal,  and  of  divine 
origin;  they  are  the  foundation, of  all  the  science  that  exists  in 
the  world,  and  must  be  the  foundation  of  theology. "J  "It  has 
been  by  wandering  from  the  immutable  laws  of  science  and 
the  right  use  of  reason,  and  setting  up  an  invented  thing  called 
revealed  religion,  that  so  many  wild  and  blasphemous  conceits 
have  been  formed  of  the  Almighty. "||  "The  Bible  represents 
God  to  be  a  changeable,  passionate,  vindictive  being;  making 
a  world,  and  then  drowning  it ;  afterwards  repenting  of  what  he 
had  done,  and  promising  not  to  do  so  again;  setting  one  nation 

*  Conflict,  p.  20.  f  Ibid.  p.  29. 

%  Paine's  Theological  Works,  Boston,  1834,  p.  150.         ||  Ibid.  p.  152. 


sect,  v.]  The  Law  of  God.  199 

to  cut  the  throats  of  another,  and  stopping  the  course  of  the  sun, 
till  the  butchery  should  be  done.  But  the  works  of  God  in  the 
creation  preach  to  us  another  doctrine.  .  .  .  Now,  which  am  I 
to  believe;  a  book  that  any  impostor  may  make  and  call  the 
word  of  God, — or  the  creation  itself  which  none  but  an  Almighty 
Power  could  make  ?  for  the  Bible  says  one  thing,  and  the  creation 
says  the  contrary.  The  Bible  represents  God  with  all  the  passions 
of  a  mortal,  and  the  creation  proclaims  him  with  all  the  attributes 
of  a  God."  .  .  .  "  All  our  ideas  of  the  justice  and  goodness  of 
God  revolt  at  the  impious  cruelty  of  the  Bible."*  To  the  same 
purpose  is  Rousseau : — "  Your  pretended  supernatural  proofs,  your 
miracles  and  your  prophecies  reduce  us  to  the  folly  of  believing 
them  all,  on  the  credit  of  others,  and  of  submitting  the  authority 
of  God,  speaking  to  our  reason,  to  that  of  man.  If  those  eternal 
truths  of  which  my  understanding  forms  the  strongest  conceptions, 
can  possibly  be  false,  I  can  have  no  hope  of  ever  arriving  at  cer- 
titude; and,  so  far  from  being  capable  of  being  assured  that  you 
speak  to  me  from  God,  I  cannot  even  be  assured  of  his  existence,  "f 
The  difference  between  the  positions  of  these  atheistical  philoso- 
phers and  the  divine  is  immaterial.  Both  recognise  certain  "intui- 
tive principles,"  having  an  eternal  and  necessary  existence  prior 
to  and  independent  of  any  revelation  of  the  nature  or  expression 
of  the  will  of  God.  Both  acknowledge  their  authority  to  be  su- 
preme and  their  decisions  final,  not  only  in  regard  to  the  ways 
of  men,  but  of  God  also.  Both,  under  their  instruction,  find  the 
dealings  of  God,  as  revealed  in  the  Scriptures,  worthy  of  condem- 
nation. Here  they  part  company.  The  philosophers  unflinch- 
ingly follow  their  principles  where  they  lead,  and  reject  the  book 
which  has  thus  been  weighed  and  found  wanting.  The  divine 
tenders  his  aid  to  explain  away  what  he  admits  to  be  the  plain 
sense  of  the  Scriptures,  and  to  supply  their  deficiencies  by  the 
help  of  fancy,  under  the  guidance  of  the  intuitive  perceptions. 
Thus  are  we  supplied  with  an  appendix  to  the  sacred  volume,  in 
which  we  may  learn  what  the  Spirit  of  inspiration  ought  to  have 


*  Paine's  Works,  p.  154. 

f  The  Savoyard  Vicar,  in  Paine's  Works,  p.  370. 


200  The  Etohim  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

said,  in  order  to  "vindicate  the  ways  of  God  to  man."  The 
skeptic  is  entitled  to  the  credit  of  candour  and  courage  at  least, 
in  that,  having  adopted  principles  so  impious,  he  does  not  hesi- 
tate to  follow  them  to  a  consistent  conclusion,  and  reject  at  once 
the  volume  which  they  so  palpably  impugn,  and  which  the  other 
more  dishonours  by  attempting  to  mend. 

But  the  question  may  still  recur,  Are  there  not,  after  all,  cer- 
tain intuitive  cognitions  of  the  human  mind,  which  constitute 
g  6.  Office  of  the  standard  of  all  our  convictions  on  moral  sub- 
intuition.  jects?      By  intuitive  cognitions,  we  suppose,  are 

meant  convictions  arising  primarily  and  of  necessity  in  the 
mind,  by  an  immediate  and  involuntary  perception  of  their  truth, 
independent  of  induction  or  argument.  Of  these,  we  reply,  Their 
number  is  few;  and,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  present  discussion, 
their  office  is  one, — to  constitute  the  connecting  link  between 
the  authority  of  God  and  the  soul  of  man.  Their  purpose  is  to 
bring  man  consciously  into  the  presence  of  his  Creator,  that  he 
may  hear  his  voice  and  obey.  Among  these  intuitions  may  be 
named  the  perception  of  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect;  the 
recognition  of  the  Great  First  Cause  as  God;  that  he  is  infinite 
in  perfections;  and  that,  as  God,  he  has  an  absolute  property  in 
his  creatures,  and  is  entitled  to  their  highest  homage  and  implicit 
obedience.  By  a  reference  to  these  alone  can  the  question  of 
the  divine  authority  of  any  mediate  revelation  be  determined. 
When  God  appeared  to  holy  men  of  old  in  personal  communica- 
tions, his  presence  was  undoubtedly  self-evidencing;  and  the 
testimony  which  they,  under  the  guidance  of  his  Spirit,  left  on 
record  for  our  instruction,  is  accompanied  with  a  similar  evi- 
dence to  the  soul  in  which  the  Spirit  of  God  dwells.  But  the 
arguments  by  which  it  is  attested  to  the  intelligent  understand- 
ing, however  many  be  the  links  of  connection,  invariably  lead 
us  back  to  the  principles  above  stated;  and,  however  the  cor- 
rupted and  apostate  soul  of  man  may  not  and  does  not  love  the 
truths  which  are  ascertained  through  them,  these  intuitive 
principles  are  admitted  to  a  universal  and  necessary  consent 
whenever  and  wherever  they  are  announced.  It  is  further  to 
be  observed,  that,  alike  in  the  communications  of  God's  Spirit 


sect,  v.]  The  Late  of  God.  201 

to  inspired  men,  and  in  those  which  we  receive  by  intermediate 
channels,  the  single  point  to  which  evidence  is  directed,  is, 
whether  the  communication  be  from  our  Creator.  This  ques- 
tion is  in  no  instance  determined  by  the  mere  nature  of  the  reve- 
lation, but  in  the  one  case  by  immediate  intuition  of  God's  pre- 
sence, and  in  the  other  by  appeal  to  the  law  of  cause  and  effect. 
Not  until  this  point  is  determined  are  we  prepared  to  listen  to 
the  communication;  and,  it  being  once  decided  in  the  affirma- 
tive, conscience  testifies,  however  unwilling  we  may  be  to  hear, 
that  He  has  a  right  to  command,  and  that,  whatever  be  the 
nature  of  the  revelation,  it  is  our  duty  to  acquiesce  and  obey. 

Of  the  intuitive  principles  stated  by  the  author  of  "The  Con- 
flict," it  is  enough  to  say  that  no  one  of  them  will  command  uni- 
versal consent,  whilst  some  are  likely  to  meet  with  unanimous 
rejection.  They  are  not,  therefore,  intuitions;  since  it  is  a  con- 
tradiction in  terms  so  to  designate  propositions  which  may  be 
honestly  rejected  by  intelligent  minds. 

The  views  of  the  author  of  "The  Conflict"  involve  and  result 
from  attributing  to  God  moral  relations  and  obligations,  which, 
3  7  Testimony  m  ^e  nature  of  the  case,  are  alone  applicable  to 
of  the  Scrip-  the  creatures.  Upon  the  principle  of  proprietary 
twes.  right,  which  indisputably  entitles    the   Creator  to 

the  absolute  possession  and  unlimited  control  of  the  material 
universe,  he  has  an  equally  absolute  right  to  the  obedience  and 
service  of  man  and  all  the  intelligent  creatures.  Upon  this 
ground  God  himself  bases  his  authority,  and  claims  obedience. 
When  the  challenge  is  made, — Why  doeth  he  so  ? — By  what 
right  does  he  assume  to  rule  ? — the  reply  is  invariably  the  same : 
— "I  have  created  it.  It  is  mine." — So  declare  the  four-and- 
twenty  Elders,  whom  John  saw  fall  down  before  him  that  sat  on 
the  throne,  saying,  "Thou  art  worthy,  0  Lord,  to  receive  glory, 
and  honour,  and  power ;  for  thou  hast  created  all  things,  and  for 
thy  pleasure  they  are,  and  were  created." — Rev.  iv.  11.  Such 
was  the  right  upon  which  God  founded  his  decree  to  punish  the 
wickedness  of  the  old  world: — "I  will  destroy  man  whom  I  have 
created." — Gen.  vi.  7.  By  this  same  authority  does  he  assert 
his  riarht  to  ordain  the  Son  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  world : — 


202  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

"Thus  saitli  God  the  Lord,  he  that  created  the  heavens  and 
stretched  them  out;  he  that  spread  forth  the  earth,  and  that 
which  cometh  out  of  it;  he  that  giveth  breath  unto  the  people 
upon  it,  and  spirit  to  them  that  walk  therein;  I  the  Lord  have 
called  thee  in  righteousness,  and  will  hold  thine  hand,  and  will 
keep  thee,  and  give  thee  for  a  covenant  of  the  people,  for  a  light 
of  the  Gentiles." — Isa.  xlii.  5,  6.  And  again,  "Thus  saith  the 
Lord,  that  created  the  heavens ;  God  himself,  that  formed  the 
earth  and  made  it;  he  hath  established  it,  he  created  it  not  in 
vain,  he  formed  it  to  be  inhabited.    I  am  the  Lord,  and  there  is 

none  else Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of 

the  earth ;  for  I  am  God,  and  there  is  none  else.  I  have  sworn  by 
myself,  the  word  is  gone  out  of  my  mouth  in  righteousness,  and 
shall  not  return,  that  unto  me  every  knee  shall  bow,  and  every 
tongue  shall  swear." — Isa.  xlv.  18,  22,  23.  Upon  this  same 
principle,  does  Paul  justify  that  discrimination,  by  which  God 
dispenses  his  sovereign  grace  to  some,  and  withholds  it  from 
others.  "  Oh,  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and 
knowledge  of  God!  how  unsearchable  are  his  judgments,  and 
his  ways  past  finding  out !  For  who  hath  known  the  mind  of 
the  Lord?  or  who  hath  been  his  counsellor?  or  who  hath  first 
given  to  him?  and  it  shall  be  recompensed  unto  him  again. 
For  of  him,  and  through  him,  and  to  him,  are  all  things;  to 
whom  be  glory  forever.  Amen." — Rom.  xi.  33-36.  "Thou  wilt 
say  then  unto  me,  Why  doth  he  yet  find  fault?  for  who  hath 
resisted  his  will?  Nay,  but,  0  man,  who  art  thou  that  repliest 
against  God?  Shall  the  thing  formed  say  to  him  that  formed 
it,  Why  hast  thou  made  me  thus  ?  Hath  not  the  potter  power 
over  the  clay,  of  the  same  lump  to  make  one  vessel  unto  honour 
and  another  unto  dishonour?" — Rom.  ix.  19-21.  Precisely  to 
the  same  purpose  is  the  language  of  God  himself: — "Woe  unto 
him  that  striveth  with  his  Maker !  Let  the  potsherd  strive  with 
the  potsherds  of  the  earth.  Shall  the  clay  say  to  him  that  fash- 
ioneth  it,  What  makest  thou  ?  or  thy  work,  He  hath  no  hands  ? 
Woe  to  him  that  saith  unto  his  father,  What  begettest  thou  ?  or 
to  the  woman,  What  hast  thou  brought  forth?  Thus  saith  the 
Lord,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  and  his  Maker,  Ask  me  of  things 


sect,  vil]  The  Law  of  God.  203 

to  come  concerning  my  sons;  and  concerning  the  work  of  my 
hands  command  ye  me.  I  have  made  the  earth,  and  created 
man  upon  it;  I,  even  my  hands,  have  stretched  out  the  heavens, 
and  all  their  host  have  I  commanded." — Isa.  xlv.  9-12.  Is  it 
possible  to  read  such  passages  as  these,  and  yet  question  whether 
the  Creator  claims  our  obedience  and  devotion  to  his  glory  upon 
the  ground  of  his  creative  property  in  us  ? 

Conscience  is  that  attribute  of  the  soul,  by  which  it  perceives 
the  moral  relation  which  thus  binds  the  intelligent  creature  to 
its  Maker.  The  one  sphere  of  its  office  is  moral  relations.  The 
one  law  of  its  decrees  is  the  authority  of  the  Creator.  The  one 
principle,  to  which  all  the  forms  of  its  decisions  are  reducible, 
is,  obedience.  Its  only  penalty,  is,  consciousness  of  indignity 
done  to  rightful  authority,  and  consequent  self-reproach  and 
sense  of  the  Creator's  frown.  Thus  every  element  in  the  phe- 
nomena of  conscience,  supposes  subordination  recognised  to  a 
rightful  and  supreme  lawgiver.  This  is  altogether  inapplicable 
to  the  position  of  God;  and  disavowed  by  our  author,  as  predi- 
cable  of  him.  Yet,  upon  no  other  supposition,  can  we  under- 
stand his  language,  describing  God  as  his  own  omniscient  judge, 
realizing  self-condemnation  and  misery.  Here  evidently  the 
Most  High  is  placed,  like  man,  in  subordination  to  some  superior 
authority,  and  controlled  by  a  subservient  conscience,  and  law 
within,  recognising  that  supremacy. 

It  is  asserted  to  be  the  right  and  duty  of  the  creatures  to  sit 
in  j  udgment  upon  the  ways  and  word  of  God ;  and,  if  any  thing 
I  s.  Judgment  is  at  variance  with  our  sense  of  honour  and  right, 
upon  God.         to  reject  and  condemn  it,  as  not  of  God. 

1.  It  is  not  enough,  for  establishing  these  positions,  to  show 
that  God  has  written  a  law  in  the  hearts  of  men,  by  the  decrees 
of  which  the  heathen  world  will  be  judged.  The  question  is  not 
concerning  the  criterion  of  men's  actions;  but,  respecting  their 
authority  to  sit  in  judgment  on  those  of  God.  And  the  fact  that, 
when  the  written  word  of  God  comes  in,  it  at  once  supersedes 
the  judicial  power  of  the  law  in  the  heart,  so  that  whilst  "as 
many  as  have  sinned  without  law  shall  perish  without  law;"  on 
the  other  hand,  "as  many  as  have  sinned  in  the  law  shall  be 


204  The  Elolriin  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

judged  by  the  law," — Rom.  ii.  12, — shows  that  "the  law  in  the 
heart"  does  not  now  possess  the  ultimate  supremacy  attributed 
to  it  by  Dr.  Beecher. 

2.  "The  fact  that  the  foundations  of  all  possible  knowledge 
have  been  laid  by  God  in  the  consciousness  and  the  intuitive 
perceptions  of  the  mind  itself,"  avails  nothing,  to  establish  the 
position  laboured  by  our  author.  The  argument  is  familiar,  in 
the  mouths  of  Romanists.  "You  are  indebted,"  say  they,  "to 
the  church  for  the  knowledge  that  the  Bible  is  the  word  of  God. 
The  church  therefore  has  authority  to  interpret  the  Scriptures." 
The  reply  is  self-evident.  Even  admitting  the  false  assumption, 
still,  the  competence  of  a  witness  to  establish  a  given  fact,  gives 
him  no  right  of  control  over  the  matters  which  he  attests.  The 
witness  who  proves  a  will,  is  not  thereby  entitled  to  determine 
or  control  the  bequests  specified  in  it.  The  fact  that  we  are 
ultimately  dependent  upon  certain  intuitions,  to  ascertain  that 
God  has  spoken,  gives  them  no  right  to  determine  what  he  ought 
to  utter,  or  even  what  he  has  said. 

3.  The  assertion  by  God  of  his  own  rectitude,  and  even  his 
appeals  to  our  consciences  to  justify  his  dealings  with  us,  do 
not  convey  a  right  to  assume  the  position  asserted  by  Dr.  B. 
On  the  contrary,  the  very  design  of  such  declarations  and  ap- 
peals, is  to  induce  in  us  an  unquestioning  submission  to  his  au- 
thority and  acquiescence  in  his  testimony,  at  all  times,  and  under 
all  circumstances.  It  is  designed  to  recall  the  perverse  soul  of 
man,  to  its  own  intuitive  consciousness  that,  whatever  be  his 
ways,  they  are  righteous ;  as  an  argument  on  the  one  hand  of 
the  sinfulness  of  man's  transgressions,  and,  on  the  other,  of  the 
duty  of  lowly  and  universal  acquiescence  and  obedience.  So,  a 
parent  may  assert,  to  a  child,  the  rectitude  of  his  authority ;  and 
even  proceed  so  far  as  to  explain  the  meaning  of  some  of  his 
actions ;  and  yet,  so  far  from  implying,  thus,  any  right  in  the 
child  to  hold  him  amenable  to  its  judgment,  the  whole  intention 
is  directly  the  reverse. 

4.  On  the  other  hand,  many  express  declarations  of  the  word 
of  God,  negative,  with  stern  rebuke,  the  presumption  which 
would  question  Jehovah  as  to  his  ways.     Such  is  the  lesson  tu 


sect,  viii.]  The  Law  of  God.  205 

which  the  entire  book  of  Job  is  directed.  The  former  part  of  it 
narrates  an  argument  between  Job  and  his  three  friends,  in 
which  they  were  all  guilty  of  an  irreverent  trial  of  the  conduct 
of  God,  at  the  bar  of  carnal  reason.  In  the  thirty-third  chap- 
ter, the  discussion  is  taken  up  by  Elihu,  who  gives  the  key  to 
the  whole  book.  "Surely  thou  hast  spoken  in  mine  hearing, 
and  I  have  heard  the  voice  of  thy  words,  saying,  I  am  clean 
without  transgression ;  I  am  innocent ;  neither  is  there  iniquity 
in  me.  Behold,  he  findeth  occasions  against  me,  he  counteth  me 
for  his  enemy;  he  putteth  my  feet  in  the  stocks,  he  marketh  all 
my  paths. — Behold,  in  this  thou  art  not  just:  I  will  answer 
thee,  that  God  is  greater  than  man.  Why  dost  thou  strive 
against  him?  For  he  giveth  not  account  of  any  of  his  matters." 
— Job  xxxiii.  8-13.  "He  giveth  not  account  of  any  of  his  mat- 
ters."— This  is  the  text  of  the  entire  discourse  of  Elihu;  which 
is  terminated  by  the  voice  of  God  himself,  in  a  series  of  sublime 
challenges  to  Job,  in  which  his  righteousness  is  vindicated  solely 
by  appeal  to  his  majesty  and  power  as  Creator.  In  the  sequel, 
Job  confesses,  in  the  dust,  the  impiety  of  his  venturing  to  sit 
in  inquest  on  the  ways  of  the  Almighty;  and  acknowledges  His 
right  to  rule  unquestioned;  and  the  duty  of  man  to  adore  and 
obey.  "I  know  that  thou  canst  do  every  thing,  and  that  no 
thought  can  be  withholden  from  thee. — Who  is  he  that  hideth 
counsel  without  knowledge? — Therefore  have  I  uttered  that 
I  understood  not;  things  too  wonderful  for  me,  which  I  knew 
not.  Hear,  I  beseech  thee,  and  I  will  speak :  I  will  demand 
of  thee,  and  declare  thou  unto  me.  I  have  heard  of  thee  by  the 
hearing  of  the  ear ;  but  now  mine  eye  seeth  thee :  wherefore  I 
abhor  myself,  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes." — Job  xlii.  2-6. 
Nothing  can  here  be  more  appropriate,  than  the  comment  of 
Henry: — "Job  owns  himself  to  be  guilty  of  that  which  God  had 
charged  him  with,  in  the  beginning  of  his  discourse.  '  Lord,  the 
first  word  that  thou  saidst  was, — Who  is  this  that  darkeneth 
counsel  by  words  without  knowledge? — There  needed  no  more; 
that  word  convinced  me;  ...  I  have  passed  a  judgment  upon 
the  dispensations  of  Providence,  though  I  was  utterly  a  stranger 
to  the  reasons  of  them.'     Here,  he  owns  himself  ignorant  of  the 


206  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

divine  counsels;  and  so  we  are  all.  God's  judgments  are  a  great 
deep,  which  we  cannot  fathom,  much  less  find  out  the  springs  of. 
We  see  what  God  does,  but  we  neither  know  why  he  does  it, 
what  he  is  driving  at,  nor  what  he  will  bring  it  to :  these  are 
things  too  wonderful  for  us;  out  of  our  sight  to  discover,  out  of 
our  reach  to  alter,  and  out  of  our  jurisdiction  to  judge  of;  they 
are  things  which  we  know  not;  it  is  quite  above  our  capacity  to 
pass  a  verdict  upon  them." 

In  the  ninth  chapter  of  the  epistle  to  the  Romans,  we  may 
witness  the  appeal  of  an  objector,  against  the  sovereign  dispen- 
sations of  God,  to  the  intuitive  perceptions  of  honour  and  right; 
and  the  reception  which  it  meets  from  the  Spirit  of  God.  "  Thou 
wilt  say  then  unto  me,  Why  doth  he  yet  find  fault?  For  who 
hath  resisted  his  will  ?  Nay,  but,  0  man,  who  art  thou  that  re- 
pliest  against  God?  Shall  the  thing  formed  say  to  him  that 
formed  it,  Why  hast  thou  made  me  thus?"  &c. — Rom.  ix.  19,  20. 
Paul  allows  no  space  for  the  performance  of  the  sacred  duty  of 
holding  the  Most  High  to  account.  Other  passages  to  the  same 
effect  will  throng  on  the  attention  of  the  Bible  student. 

5.  Were  the  doctrine  true  which  we  oppose,  it  would  involve 
us  in  a  state  of  hopeless  darkness,  and  perplexity  in  regard  to 
the  way  of  duty  and  salvation.  We  have  lamentable  proof,  in 
our  daily  experience,  that  both  our  intellectual  and  moral  powers 
are  in  a  state  of  ruin.  Our  understandings  are  darkened,  and 
our  affections  perverted,  insomuch  that  we  scarcely  dare  rely 
with  confidence  upon  their  decisions  from  the  briefest  inductions 
concerning  the  most  necessary  truths.  God  is  infinitely  above  our 
comprehension ;  and  his  ways  are  as  unsearchable  as  his  nature. 
Any  mistake,  in  relation  to  his  character  and  our  relations  to 
him,  involves  imminent  peril  of  perdition,  under  the  curse  of 
our  Creator.  Yet,  in  such  circumstances,  we  are  required  to 
take  up  that  sacred  volume,  which  comes  to  us  as  the  very  word 
of  God,  that  shall  be  a  lamp  to  our  darkness  and  a  guide  to  our 
ignorance ;  and  test  its  authority,  not  by  the  inquiry, — Does  it 
bring  evidence  of  its  heavenly  origin  ? — but  by  the  question, 
whether  each  several  communication  therein  contained  is  such 
as  God  ought  to  have  made;  determining  the  character  of  each 


sect.  viii. J  The  Law  of  God.  207 

part  of  that  record,  by  reference  to  the  standard  of  man's  ruin- 
ous nature ;  and  explaining  away,  or  rejecting,  whatever  is  thus 
determined  to  be  unworthy  of  God.  Can  we  hope  for  any  thing 
but  mistake  and  ruin,  in  such  a  process?  In  terms,  the  state- 
ment of  Dr.  Beecher  purports  to  be  a  mere  criterion  by  which 
to  judge  of  the  authenticity  of  any  professed  revelation  from 
God.  In  fact,  it  limits  the  authority  of  God  himself.  As  we 
have  formerly  seen,  our  author  avowedly  confines  that  authority 
within  the  principles.  Here,  he  limits  it  by  our  judgments,  de- 
duced from  them.  If  God  himself  should  come  to  us,  in  visible 
and  bodily  form,  as  he  did  to  Abraham,  and  address  to  us  any 
sort  of  communications,  we  are  taught,  that  he  requires  us  to 
test  them  all  by  the  intuitive  principles;  and  if,  in  our  judgment, 
they  fail  to  stand  the  test,  we  are  to  reject  them.  The  alterna- 
tive is,  that  God  has  violated  the  eternal  law  and  ought  not  to 
be  obeyed;  or,  that  it  is  not  God  that  speaks.  Either  alterna- 
tive is  atheism.  A  God  whose  word  is  not  law,  in  and  of  itself, 
is  no  God. 

The  illustration  which  the  book  of  Dr.  B.  presents,  of  the  suc- 
cess of  such  a  course  of  proceeding,  is  a  signal  example  of  re- 
1 9.Dr.Beech-  ductio  ad  absurdam,  a  conclusive  proof  of  the  fallacy 
er' s  expen.  of  the  whole  scheme.  Assuming  the  seat  of  judg- 
ment, and  laying  down  the  six  principles  to  which 
we  have  referred  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  he  proceeds  to 
test  by  them  the  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures  on  the  subject  of 
original  sin.  The  word  of  God  is  put  to  the  question.  It  replies, 
"In  Adam  all  die." — 1  Cor.  xv.  22.  "As  by  one  man  sin  en- 
tered into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin,  and  so  death  passed  upon 
all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned. — Through  the  offence  of  one 
many  be  dead. — By  one  man's  offence  death  reigned  by  one. — 
By  the  offence  of  one,  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condem- 
nation.— By  one  man's  disobedience  many  were  made  sinners." 
— Rom.  v.  12,  15-18.  Not  so !  interposes  the  judge  from  the 
bench.  "  The  sin  of  Adam,  in  fact,  exerted  no  influence  what- 
ever on  his  race;"  and  the  supposition  that  it  does  is  contrary  to 
the  nature  of  things,  and  the  intuitive  principles  of  honour  and 
right.     What  course  now  does  Dr.  Beecher  pursue?     He  has 


208  The  Elolilm  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

assumed  the  place  of  judgment,  under  a  sacred  obligation  to  try 
and  determine  according  to  intuitive  principles;  under  the  con- 
viction, that  if  any  thing,  though  professedly  from  God,  "  come 
into  collision  with  the  natural  and  intuitive  judgments  of  the 
human  mind,  there  is  better  reason  to  call  in  question  the  alleged 
facts,  than  to  suppose  those  principles  to  be  false  which  God  has 
made  the  human  mind  intuitively  to  recognise  as  true."  He 
has  defined  those  principles,  which  thus  constitute  the  standard 
of  judgment.  He  has  selected  his  case,  and  applied  the  rule, 
and  found  a  direct  contradiction  between  the  word  of  God  and 
the  intuitive  principles.  Does  he,  as  an  impartial  judge,  give 
sentence,  and  erase  the  obnoxious  statements  from  the  sacred 
page  ?  No,  he  leaves  the  bench  and  becomes  an  advocate  in  the 
case.  "  It  is  equally  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  language  and 
the  usages  of  Scripture  to  suppose  that  the  sequence  [between 
Adam's  sin  and  our  ruin]  is  one  of  merely  apparent  causation ; 
so  that  the  sin  of  Adam,  in  fact,  exerted  no  influence  whatever 
on  his  race,  but  it  and  its  sequences  were  merely  ordered  so 
to  stand  in  relation  to  each  other  as  to  make,  at  the  very  intro- 
duction of  the  human  race  into  this  world,  a  striking  type  of  the 
coming  Messiah,  by  whom  the  race  was  to  be  redeemed."* 
No  !  all  men  do  not  die  in  Adam;  but  "if  in  a  previous  state  of 
existence,  God  created  all  men  with  such  constitutions,  and  placed 
them  in  such  circumstances,  as  the  laws  of  honour  and  of  right  de- 
manded,— if,  then,  they  revolted,  and  corrupted  themselves,  and 
forfeited  their  rights,  and  were  introduced  into  this  world  under 
a  dispensation  of  sovereignty,  disclosing  both  justice  and  mercy, 
— then  all  conflict  of  the  moving  powers  of  Christianity  can  be 
at  once  and  entirely  removed."f  If  all  this  wild  dream  be  true, 
and  if  it  may  be  pleaded  at  the  bar  as  an  element  in  the  case  on 
trial,  then  may  the  ways  of  God  be  justified! 

But  may  not  that  glorious  One,  whom  the  patron  of  this  un- 
scriptural  fancy  has  called  to  account,  well  demand,  in  reference 
to  such  a  vindication, — by  what  authority  he  assumes  to  be  an 
advocate  in  the  cause? — who  authorized  him  to  supplement  the 

*  Conflict  of  Ages,  p.  376.  f  Ibid.  p.  221. 


sect,  ix.]  The  Law  of  God.  209 

sacred  word  with  the  revelations  of  his  intuitive  sense?  May 
we  not  appropriate  to  such  a  case  God's  challenge  to  Job : — 
"Who  is  this  that  darkeneth  counsel  by  words  without  know- 
ledge?" "Shall  he  that  contendeth  with  the  Almighty  instruct 
him?  He  that  reproveth  God,  let  him  answer  it." — Job  xxxviii. 
2,  xl.  2. 

The  scheme  here  examined  involves  an  utter  disregard  of  the 
fact  that  the  final  end  of  all  things  is,  the  revelation  of  God. 
§  10.  God  The  moment  we  allow  that  blessed  One  to  be  limited 
revealed.  [n  any  way,  in  the  government  of  his  works,  we 

are  constrained  to  deny  him  to  have  been  free  in  their  creation. 
If  entirely  independent  in  the  work  of  creation,  his  property  in 
his  creatures  must  be  absolute  and  unlimited,  and  his  conduct 
toward  them  must  remain  free  from  any  restraint  or  control,  sub- 
ject only  to  his  independent  and  absolute  discretion.  If,  there- 
fore, he  is  subject  to  limitation  in  his  governmental  administra- 
tion, he  must  have  been  so  in  his  creative  work.  In  fact,  this  theory 
is  an  offshoot  of  optimism,  which  actually  asserts  such  a  restraint. 
But,  if  any  restraint  be  allowed,  all  discretion  is  thereby  abso- 
lutely precluded.  Neither  in  respect  to  the  fact  nor  the  design 
of  creation,  the  number  and  nature  of  the  creatures,  the  laws 
which  govern  them,  nor  the  administration  which  presides  over 
them,  is  there  thenceforward  any  pertinence  in  inquiring  as  to 
the  will  of  God,  his  nature,  character  or  purposes.  He  is  a 
cipher  in  the  account ;  or,  at  best,  a  mere  mechanic,  whose  office 
it  is,  slavishly  to  copy  the  model  set  before  him.  If  God  should 
propose  to  make  his  own  glory  the  chief  end  of  his  works,  the 
Nature  of  Things  may  step  in  and  say,  "  Nay,  but  it  shall  be 
the  happiness  of  the  creatures, — the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest 
number."  Perhaps,  in  that  number  it  may  allow  Jehovah  to 
count  for  one.  But  that  is  as  the  sovereign  Principles  may 
determine.  And,  although,  as  read  by  Edwards  and  his  earlier 
followers,  they  cordially  consent,  we  have  no  assurance  that 
a  generation  will  not  arise,  whose  superior  intelligence  and 
position  will  enable  them  to  discover  directly  the  reverse.  One 
thing,  however,  remains  abundantly  sure,  that  the  moment  we 
admit  the  supremacy  of  the  "  Nature  of  Things,"  of  Beecher's 

14 


210  The  EloJum  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

"Principles,"  or  of  any  thing  else  than  God's  own  nature,  the 
fountain  of  his  will,  any  true  revelation  of  God  is  forever  pre- 
cluded. No  creature  can  thereafter  tell,  at  what  point,  or  in 
what  form,  the  free  agency  of  God  has  been  limited.  None  can 
tell  how  different  the  whole  system  had  been,  if  it  all  had  re- 
sulted from  his  mere  discretion.  He  may  be  holy,  but  it  can 
never  be  proved.  He  may  be  good,  but  it  cannot  be  known.  The 
seeming  evidence  may  all  proceed,  not  from  his  will,  but  from 
the  nature  of  things.  Thus  does  the  theory  cast  a  pall  of  utter 
and  eternal  darkness  over  the  glory  of  God ;  and  exalt  in  his 
stead  a  blind,  unintelligent,  impersonal  deity,  which,  however 
named,  is  the  very  Brahma  of  eastern  idolatry.  Others  may 
bow  at  this  shrine;  but  such  is  not  the  God  whom  we  worship. 
"  Our  God  is  in  the  heavens  :  he  hath  done  whatsoever  he  hath 
pleased." — Ps.  cxv.  3.  All  his  works  praise  him,  and  his 
saints  bless  and  rejoice  in  him,  because  he  hath  done  thus ; — 
because  in  all  the  operation  of  his  hands  and  testimony  of  his 
word,  they  see  the  pure  outshining  of  his  own  perfection, — the 
sovereign,  uncontrolled  and  uninfluenced  unfolding  of  the 
radiant  glories  of  his  own  nature, — the  revelation  of  himself  as, 

I  AM  THAT  I  AM. 

Any  theory  which  limits  the  authority  and  discretion  of  the 
Creator,  and  our  duty  of  obedience  to  him,  by  other  laws  than  his 
own  free  will,  the  expression  of  his  own  essential  nature,  is  alike 
untenable  and  impious.  The  only  rule  of  all  morality,  the 
comprehensive  sum  of  all  duty,  is  expressed  by  the  Preacher 
in  the  closing  words  of  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes : — "  Let  us 
hear  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter :  Fear  God,  and  keep 
his  commandments ;  for  this  is  the  whole  duty  of  man." — 
Eccl.  xii.  13.  When  God  our  Creator,  has  spoken,  it  is  ours 
unquestioning  to  obey.  Though  it  be  with  Samuel  to  exter- 
minate the  mother  with  her  child,  an  entire  nation, — with  the 
tribe  of  Levi  to  slay  their  brethren, — or  with  the  father  of  the 
faithful  to  immolate  his  son ;  "to  obey  is  better  than  sacrifice, 
and  to  hearken  than  the  fat  of  rams.  For  rebellion  is  as  the 
sin  of  witchcraft,  and  stubbornness  is  as  iniquity  and  idolatry." 
—1  Sam.  xv.  22,  23. 


sect,  xi.]  The  Law  of  God.  211 

The  fundamental  principle  which  governs  this  subject,  is  that 
,,,,,-,  a  proprietor  is  entitled  to  the  beneficial  uses,  abso- 

g  11.   Nature  -1        L 

and  necessity  lute  and  entire,  of  his  property.  This,  in  fact,  is  the 
of  God's  so-  essential  idea  of  the  proprietary  relation;  divested 
of  which,  the  word  is  an  unmeaning  sound,  and  the 
relation  disappears.  This  further  implies,  that  the  assertion  of 
this  proprietary  right  in  perpetuity,  or  the  more  or  less  entire 
alienation  of  it,  belongs  altogether  to  the  sovereign  discretion 
of  the  proprietor;  who  may,  unquestioned  and  uncontrolled,  do 
in  the  matter  according  to  his  own  mere  pleasure.  Since  then 
the  work  of  creation  is  but  the  investiture  of  the  creatures  with 
what  properly  and  essentially  belongs  to  no  other  than  God 
alone, — existence,  and  the  conditions  of  existence  and  enjoy- 
ment,— and  since  he  expressly  and  continually  declares,  both  in 
the  very  act  of  creation,  and  in  the  whole  process  of  his  govern- 
ment, that  the  being  and  endowments  with  which  he  has  clothed 
the  creatures  are  inalienably  his  own,  and  only  lent  for  his  own 
service  and  glory;  it  is  evident  that  no  higher  title  to  pro- 
prietary authority  can  be  conceived  than  that  which  here  exists, 
and  that  the  right  of  God  to  the  service  of  the  creature  must  be 
perfect  and  supreme;  and  his  authority  comprehensive  of  the 
entire  being.  If  there  be  in  the  creature  any  capacity  or  prin- 
ciple of  agency  which  is  not  the  gift  of  God,  that  may  be  re- 
served. But,  if  all  is  derived  from  him,  all  is  due  to  his  service ; 
and  the  vindication  of  this  his  property  in  the  works  of  his  own 
hands,  demands  that  he  should  require  a  subordination  compre- 
hensive of  the  whole  being,  over  heart,  soul,  mind  and  strength ; 
over  body  and  spirit ;  which  all  alike  are  his. 

Such  are  the  obligations  in  which  the  creature  is  involved,  by 
the  very  necessity  of  his  created  nature.  It  results  that  a  holy 
God,  a  righteous  sovereign,  must,  alike  in  respect  to  his  wisdom, 
his  authority  and  that  holiness  which  demands  the  enforcement 
of  what  is  right,  require  of  all  his  creatures,  that  supreme  re- 
gard to  his  will  and  glory,  which  his  own  purpose  in  creation 
contemplated,  and  which  reason  thus  so  clearly  indicates,  and 
justice  demands. 

In  fact,  it  is  a  matter  of  infinite  necessity  to  the  creatures, 


212  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

that  God  should  constitute  himself  the  common  centre  and  bond 
of  harmony,  alike  to  the  material  and  moral  universe.  "We  are, 
for  example,  dependent  upon  the  air  flowing  through  our  lungs 
for  the  continuance  of  life.  Suppose  the  atmosphere  to  be  left 
uncontrolled,  or  placed  under  the  dominion  of  one  ruler,  and  the 
earth  under  another.  The  result  must  be  instant  destruction  to 
every  living  thing.  So  too  of  the  heavenly  bodies; — all  must 
be  under  the  control  of  one  governing,  guiding  hand,  or  collision 
and  ruin  must  ensue. 

The  same  thing  is  true  of  the  intelligent  and  moral  part  of 
creation.  Conceive  a  world  organized  and  peopled  by  God;  en- 
dowed with  every  thing  requisite  for  subsistence ;  its  population 
gifted  with  an  existence  continued  independently  of  the  imme- 
diate agency  of  omnipotence,  and  then  severed  from  God's  do- 
main, freed  from  his  sceptre,  released  from  his  law,  obliterated 
from  his  thoughts,  and  set  free  from  responsibility  to  his  judg- 
ment bar ! 

Could  we  visit  that  lost  world  and  witness  the  condition  of  its 
inhabitants,  what  should  we  see?  We  should  find  a  population 
to  whom  all  the  persuasive  arguments  arising  from  the  hopes  of 
their  Creator's  favour  have  lost  their  significance  and  power. 
They  realize  no  restraint  from  dread  of  his  displeasure.  For 
they  have  no  God.  They  have  no  promises  to  inspire  hope,  nor 
threatenings  to  appeal  to  fear.  We  should  find  intelligences 
without  a  conscience, — without  a  conception  of  the  duty  of 
rectitude  or  the  crime  of  wrong-doing  and  sin.  For  wrong  is 
deviation  from  a  standard  of  duty,  from  a  law  of  obligation ; 
and  sin  is  violation  of  the  requirements  of  the  Creator.  Whilst 
righteousness  is  conformity  to  those  obligations, — obedience  to 
the  law.  But,  to  these  forsaken  beings,  as  there  is  no  sovereign, 
there  is  no  law, — no  obligation  of  conformity,  as  there  is  no 
standard  of  duty. 

In  such  a  world,  every  bond  of  moral  rectitude,  and  every  tie 
of  social  obligation,  would  be  dissolved  by  the  stroke  that 
severed  the  bond  which  held  them  in  dependence  upon  Jehovah's 
throne.  From  thence,  only,  does  the  marriage  tie  derive  its 
sanctitude,  and  the  relations  of  the  family,  all  their  authority 


sect,  xi.]  The  Lena  of  God.  213 

and  tenderness.  From  thence  do  the  social  relations  and  com- 
mon charities  derive  their  spring ;  and  the  political  system,  its 
constitution  and  controlling  power.  In  short,  the  decree  which 
severs  the  creature  from  immediate  and  conscious  dependence 
and  obligation  to  the  Creator,  would  convert  cherubim  into 
devils,  and  paradise  into  a  hell,  where  self  would  be  to  each, 
supreme;  and  appetite  and  passion  the  ultimate  motives,  and 
only  law. 

If  a  creature  is  to  be  happy,  that  end  can  never  be  attained, 
except  by  constituting  the  Creator  the  great  centre  of  all  his 
motions, — by  making  God's  law  his  rule,  God's  favour  his  high- 
est aspiration,  and  God's  glory  his  great  end.  As  God  made 
him  for  his  own  pleasure,  and  to  his  own  glory ;  and  as  his 
tribute  to  these  most  righteously  belongs  to  God  :  so  is  it  equally 
essential  to  the  well-being  and  happiness  of  the  creature  himself, 
spontaneously,  and  with  all  his  heart,  to  render  that  tribute  to 
his  Maker. 

Thus  then  does  it  appear,  from  reasons  which  commend  them- 
selves to  our  unreserved  acquiescence,  antecedent  to  any  revela- 
1 12.  The  law  tion  of  the  will  of  God,  that  his  commandment,  when 
is,  "  Glorify  given,  must  announce  the  supreme  duty  of  man  and 
angels,  the  great  business  of  creation,  to  be  the 
Creator's  glory.  The  law  is  given ; — and  its  whole  burden  is 
summed  in  one  word: — "Glorify  God  in  your  body  and  spirit, 
which  are  God's."  Such  is  the  occasion  of  the  first  and  great 
commandment  of  the  law: — "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy 
strength,  and  with  all  thy  mind." 

"  The  second  is  like  unto  it;  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as 
thyself."  If  the  discovery  of  the  glory  of  the  divine  perfections 
be  the  great  end  of  creation,  and  supreme  love  to  God  the  great 
duty  of  rational  beings,  love  to  each  other  becomes  of  the  highest 
obligation;  as,  in  fact,  essential  to  the  former.  They  recognise 
in  each  other  the  creatures  of  his  power,  whose  several  endow- 
ments and  enjoyments  are  the  gifts  of  his  goodness.  Their  har- 
mony and  love  attest  the  unity  and  wisdom  of  his  nature  and 
designs.    Their  consequent  happiness  proclaims  him  good.    Their 


214  Tlie  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

unanimous  homage  exalts  his  praise.  And,  whilst  they  vie  as 
co-workers  with  him,  in  promoting  each  other's  happiness,  each 
serves  as  a  mirror,  in  which  is  seen  reflected  the  image  of  his 
infinite  beneficence. 

Such  was  that  most  perfect  law,  under  which  man  was  created; 
— its  precepts  based  in  reasons  most  worthy  of  God,  and  origi- 
nating in  the  very  attributes  of  his  own  nature ; — in  its  influence 
felicitous  to  man  and  the  creatures,  and  essential  to  account  for, 
or  perpetuate,  the  existence  of  creation  itself.  Through  its  in- 
strumentality, three  purposes  are  accomplished.  It  serves  for 
the  revelation  of  the  moral  perfections  of  God ;  it  constitutes  an 
assertion  of  his  sovereignty ;  and  is  a  touchstone  for  the  creatures. 
In  two  ways  does  it  make  known  the  moral  perfections  of  God ; 
— as  the  law  itself  is  a  definition  and  announcement  of  those  per- 
fections, addressed  to  the  understandings  of  the  intelligent  crea- 
tures ; — and,  as  they,  conforming  themselves  to  its  rule,  are 
mirrors,  in  which  the  glorious  image  of  the  Lawgiver  is  reflected, 
so  as  to  be  mutually  recognised  and  admired  by  them.  It  asserts 
the  Creator's  sovereignty,  by  its  preceptive  form;  and  vindicates 
it,  by  the  penal  terrors  of  its  curse.  And  it  constitutes  a  touch- 
stone by  the  aid  of  which  the  actions  of  the  creatures  may  be 
tested,  and  all  ambiguity  precluded,  as  to  their  conformity  to, 
or  alienation  from,  the  likeness  of  God.  Based  in  such  principles, 
and  appointed  to  such  ends,  this  law  must  be,  as  it  is,  universal 
in  its  authority  and  unchangeable  in  its  terms.  By  it,  angels  in 
glory,  and  devils  in  hell,  are  bound  and  ruled.  By  it,  man, 
innocent,  fallen,  redeemed,  and  reprobate,  is  governed.  And,  in 
conformity  with  its  precepts  and  design,  the  worlds  of  space  and 
the  lower  orders  of  creatures,  are  organized  and  adapted. 

Of  this  law  it  is  a  signal  characteristic,  that  it  requires  perfect 
obedience.  It  might  seem  superfluous  to  specify  this  feature, 
a  13.  The  cha-  but  for  the  importance  sometimes  attributed  to  what 
racteri sties  of  is  absurdly  called  "imperfect  obedience;"  which  is 
supposed  to  be  acceptable,  if  sincere.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  apostle  testifies  that  "whosoever  shall  keep  the  whole 
law,  and  yet  offend  in  one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all," — James  ii. 
10;  and  the  Son  of  God  himself  asserts  the  same  thing,  when 


sect,  xii.]  The  Law  of  God.  215 

he  exhorts,  "  Be  ye  therefore  perfect,  even  as  your  Father  which 
is  in  heaven  is  perfect."  The  character  of  its  author  demands 
that  his  should  be  a  law  of  perfection ;  and  nothing  less  would 
have  been  appropriate  to  the  design  of  the  law, — the  revelation 
of  its  Author's  glory, — and  to  the  perfection  which  shone  in  the 
beings  to  whom  it  was  at  first  revealed.  In  fact,  it  is  of  the  very 
nature  of  law  to  require  perfect  obedience.  It  recognises  no 
alternative  between  obedience  and  transgression.  To  say  that  the 
law  requires  the  performance  of  such  and  such  duties,  but  does 
not  enforce  the  obligation,  is  a  contradiction  in  terms.  A  line 
from  which  the  law  allows  deflection,  is  not  the  line  of  its  require- 
ments. An  imperfect  obedience  is  acknowledged  transgression ; 
and  the  sincerity  which  is  supposed  to  compensate  for  the  imper- 
fection, either  attaches  to  the  partial  obedience,  and  is  therefore  no 
more  than  a  part  of  it,  which  cannot  compensate  for  what  it  lacks ; 
or  it  characterizes  the  transgression,  and  so  proves  the  falsity  of  the 
pretended  conformity,  even  in  so  far  as  it  assumes  such  a  seeming. 
If  it  be  allowed  that  the  law  can  tolerate  any  measure  of  trans- 
gression without  punishment,  there  then  remains  no  line  to  mark 
the  bounds  beyond  which  transgression  may  not  go ;  and,  in  fact, 
the  precept  being  thus  trampled  under  foot,  and  the  penalty  set 
aside,  the  law  itself  is  annulled,  and  the  universe  is  left  without 
guide  or  ruler. 

A  second  feature  of  the  law,  is  that  it  is  comprehensive  of  the 
entire  moral  being  of  those  upon  whom  its  precept  is  laid.  It 
does  not  merely  concern  itself  with  actions,  but  with  the  nature, 
the  fountain  whence  they  flow.  In  fact,  when  the  precept  in 
terms  applies  to  the  formal  actions  of  the  creature,  it  in  that 
fact  asserts  a  jurisdiction  over  the  nature  of  the  soul,  the  atti- 
tude of  the  powers,  which  is  the  cause  of  the  actions,  and  of 
their  moral  nature.  The  sum  of  the  first  table  of  the  law  is, 
"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God,  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with 
all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy  strength." 
— Mark  xii.  30.  There  is  no  element  of  the  being, — there  is  no 
power  of  the  nature,  of  the  body,  or  of  the  soul, — which  is  not 
thus  comprehended  in  the  obligation  of  the  law.  Its  demand  is, 
"  Glorify  God   in   your   body  and   in   your   spirit,  which   are 


216  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

God's." — 1  Cor.  vi.  20.  Inasmuch,  as  all  of  body  and  soul — not 
only  the  active  faculties,  but  the  inmost  powers — were  made  by 
God,  for  himself,  the  reason  which  calls  for  a  law  at  all,  demands 
that  its  compass  include  all  these,  directing  all  to  God's  glory. 
Of  this  we  shall  speak  more  fully  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

The  law,  thus  strict  and  comprehensive  in  its  demands,  was 
also  unchangeable  in  its  terms,  and  of  perpetual  obligation.  This 
necessarily  results  from  the  perfection  of  its  nature,  the  excel- 
lence of  its  origin,  and  the  unchangeableness  of  Him  whose  per- 
fections it  proclaims;  and  is  further  indicated  in  the  manner  in 
which,  under  changing  circumstances,  it  has  been  repeatedly  re- 
announced  and  enforced.  Originally  inscribed  on  the  heart  of 
Adam  in  his  creation,  it  was  recognised  and  comprehended  in 
the  subsequent  transaction  respecting  the  tree  of  knowledge. 
Transgression  of  it  by  our  first  parents  involved  them  and  their 
race  in  its  penal  curse.  Under  its  condemnation,  the  nations  of 
the  old  world,  the  cities  of  the  plain,  and  the  people  of  Canaan, 
perished;  and  Pharaoh  and  his  kingdom  suffered  the  scourges 
of  God.  When  a  new  dispensation  of  grace  was  introduced,  it 
was  attended  with  the  tremendous  scene  of  Sinai;  whose  thun- 
derings  and  flame  proclaimed  the  law,  not  set  aside,  or  mitigated 
in  its  demands;  but  clothed  with  the  robes  and  sword  of  vin- 
dictive justice,  to  punish  transgression.  When  the  Son  of  God 
came  in  the  flesh,  to  redeem  transgressors,  his  largest  recorded 
discourse  was  introduced  with  the  admonition,  "Think  not  that 
I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law  or  the  prophets :  I  am  not  come 
to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil.  For  verily  I  say  unto  you,  till  heaven 
and  earth  pass,  one  jot,  or  one  tittle,  shall  in  no  wise  pass  from 
the  law,  till  all  be  fulfilled."— Matt.  v.  17,  18.  The  whole  of 
that  discourse  is  an  illustration  and  enforcement  of  the  spirit- 
uality and  authority  of  the  law,  all  of  whose  precepts  are  in  it, 
summed  in  the  one  comprehensive  requirement,  "Be  ye  therefore 
perfect,  even  as  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  is  perfect." — 
Matt.  v.  48.  The  whole  life  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  was  "made 
under  the  law,  to  redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law," — Gal. 
iv.  4,  5, — is  a  most  signal  proof  that  none  of  its  requirements 
had  been  lowered,  nor  its  penalty  modified  nor  set  aside. 


sect,  xiil]  The  Laic  of  God.  217 

All  the  attributes  of  God  join  to  assert  that  his  law  is  immu- 
table and  inexorable  in  its  claims.  "The  law  is  holy,  and  the 
commandment  holy,  and  just,  and  good;"  and  shall  the  Holy  One 
set  it  aside?  Its  demands  are  truth  and  righteousness;  and 
shall  a  righteous  God  fail  to  enforce  them?  Even  the  imagina- 
tion that  he  might  abrogate  it,  is  blasphemous.  It  is,  to  suppose 
that  he  may  say  to  his  creatures,  "  My  laws  are  perfect,  but  I 
do  not  require  them  to  be  obeyed.  My  commands  are  holy,  but 
transgression  is  not  displeasing  to  me.  My  threatenings  are 
righteous,  but  righteousness  and  truth  will  not  enforce  them." 
In  short,  it  is  to  assume  that  he  whose  name  is  Holy,  and  "who  is 
of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  evil,"  may  cease  to  view  it  with 
indignation,  and  may  regard  open  rebellion  with  complacency; 
— that  he  may  break  down  the  barriers  which  divide  corruption 
from  holiness,  and  bridge  the  gulf  which  separates  hell  and 
heaven.  The  unchangeableness  of  God  concurs  with  his  holi- 
ness, to  forbid  the  repeal  of  the  least  commandment  of  his  law. 
He  has  said  that  these  are  his  requirements;  that  he  that  doeth 
shall  live,  but  he  that  transgresseth  shall  die.  And  "God  is  not 
a  man,  that  he  should  lie,  neither  the  son  of  man,  that  he  should 
repent.  Hath  he  said,  and  shall  he  not  do  it  ?  or  hath  he  spoken, 
and  shall  he  not  make  it  good?" — Num.  xxiii.  19.  How  em- 
phatic his  admonition  by  the  prophet! — "Remember  the  former 
things  of  old;  for  I  am  God,  and  there  is  none  else;  I  am  God, 
and  there  is  none  like  me ;  declaring  the  end  from  the  beginning, 
and  from  ancient  times  the  things  that  are  not  yet  done;  saying, 
My  counsel  shall  stand,  and  I  will  do  all  my  pleasure." — Isa.  xlvi. 
9,  10.  Well  exclaims  the  Psalmist,  "Thy  word  is  true  from  the 
beginning;  and  every  one  of  thy  righteous  judgments  endureth 
forever." — Psalm  cxix.  160. 

The  perpetuity  of  the  divine  law  further  appears  in  its  com- 
prehensive scope,  which  includes  all  possible  cases  and  provided 
?  14.  The  law  for  all  emergencies.  Perfectly  adapted  to  the  state 
binds  ail.  0f  man  innocent,  it  contemplated,  and  made  full 

provision  for,  the  contingency  of  man  guilty.  In  the  doom  of 
death,  as  the  penalty  of  sin,  it  provided  for  the  case  that  has 
occurred,  in  the  fall  of  our  race ;  and  thus  evinced,  that  He  who 


218  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

sees  the  end  from  the  beginning,  did  not  intend,  upon  that  oc- 
currence, to  change  his  plan,  or  modify  his  requirements. 
Transgression  could  not  abrogate  the  authority  of  the  law.  It 
forfeits  all  title  to  any  rewards  of  obedience.  But  the  authority 
of  a  violated  law,  even  before  human  tribunals,  still  remains  as 
complete  and  unquestioned  as  before  transgression;  and  if  this 
be  right  in  relation  to  the  laws  of  man,  much  more  in  respect 
to  that  of  which  we  speak.  It  may  still  be  supposed  that  upon 
the  occurrence  of  transgression,  the  precept  falls  into  abeyance, 
and  the  whole  authority  of  the  law  takes  the  form  of  penal  in- 
fliction. Against  this  supposition,  the  first  objection  is,  that  it 
militates  against  the  reason  of  the  law  itself.  "We  have  seen 
this  to  have  been,  the  glory  of  God;  and  that,  from  the  nature 
of  the  case,  the  relation  of  the  creature  binds  him  with  his 
active  powers  to  seek  this  end.  It  is  not  sufficient  that  God  will 
certainly  be  glorified  in  him.  With  this  aspect  of  the  matter, 
belonging  as  it  does  to  God's  wisdom  and  agency,  the  creature 
has  nothing  to  do,  but  to  wonder  and  adore.  But  his  active 
powers  and  capacities  are,  both  in  their  original  and  continuance, 
gifts  of  the  divine  goodness;  and  hence,  as  already  shown,  per- 
petual debtors  to  serve  his  glory,  and  do  his  will.  Transgres- 
sion has  not  divested  God  of  this  his  property;  and  it  is  impos- 
sible to  conceive  how  that  glory  which  the  susceptibilities  of  the 
creature  passively  display,  by  the  endurance  of  the  penalty,  can 
in  any  way  release  those  active  powers,  from  their  appropriate 
duties  and  services;  unless  upon  a  principle  which  would  also 
release  the  souls  and  affections  of  saints  and  angels  from  bring- 
ing their  tribute,  because  of  that  which  their  bodies  render ;  and, 
in  fine,  exonerate  all  the  faculties  and  members  of  the  being,  on 
the  score  of  the  subordination  and  fealty  of  any  one  of  their 
number. 

But  it  may  be  objected,  that  to  require  of  the  creature  obe- 
dience to  the  law,  whilst  in  the  act  of  enduring  its  penalty,  in- 
volves impossibilities,  both  moral  and  physical.  The  supposed 
moral  impossibility  consists  in  the  fact,  that  sin  implies  such  a 
disorder  of  the  whole  being,  and  transformation  and  debasement 
of  all  the  powers, — such  a  loss  of  integrity,  aversion  from  God 


sect,  xiv.]  The  Law  of  God.  219 

and  holiness,  and  bondage  to  corruption,  as  precludes  the  possi- 
bility of  unaided  return  to  love  and  obedience.  This  inex- 
tricable difficulty,  however,  in  which  transgression  involves  the 
sinner,  is  one  chief  element  in  the  sinfulness  of  sin ;  a  principal 
cause  of  the  greatness  of  its  condemnation.  The  incompatibility 
between  the  law  and  the  position  of  the  transgressor,  is  involved 
in  the  very  idea  of  either;  and  the  sinner  cannot  expect  ex- 
emption from  its  authority  on  the  ground  of  aversion  to  its  holi- 
ness, or  of  a  disorder  in  his  nature  induced  by  his  own  apostasy. 
If  the  objection  be  well  founded,  an  individual  can  never  commit 
more  than  a  single  act  of  sin.  Sin  is  transgression  of  the  law ; 
and  if  the  transgression  sets  aside  the  precept,  the  party  is 
thenceforth  free  to  follow  the  dictates  of  his  own  will.  Neither, 
on  the  one  hand,  does  his  disregard  of  the  law  constitute  sin,  nor, 
on  the  other,  will  conformity  to  it  constitute  virtue.  Thus,  then, 
angels  may  sin,  but  devils  cannot !  and  he  who  lives  in  some 
measure  according  to  the  laws  of  morality  and  the  rule  of  the 
Scriptures,  is  on  this  supposition  no  more  worthy  of  approval 
than  is  he  who  sets  at  defiance  alike  the  decencies  of  life  and  the 
law  of  God  !  In  fact,  since  every  idea  of  morality  in  the  creatures 
refers  to  a  conformity  to  God's  nature  as  set  forth  in  the  law, 
and  since  those  can  have  no  moral  character  who  are  not  called  to 
such  conformity,  it  follows,  that  the  first  act  of  transgression,  if 
it  abrogates  the  precepts  of  the  law,  robs  the  creature  of  moral 
character ;  and  the  blasphemies  of  devils  are  not  sinful,  nor  they 
themselves  to  be  accounted  wicked  ! 

The  physical  impossibilities,  which  may  be  supposed  to  be 
implied  in  the  continued  authority  of  the  precepts  of  the  law, 
whilst  the  penalty  is  endured,  are,  first,  that  the  bonds  of  the 
penalty  preclude  the  possibility  of  performing  the  duties  en- 
joined by  the  law.  Thus  the  spirits  in  prison  cannot  assume  a 
place  amid  the  adoring  throng  before  the  throne.  Second,  since 
the  penalty  is  suffering,  against  which  nature  necessarily  and 
involuntarily  revolts,  it  may  be  supposed  to  be  impossible  that 
the  sinner  can  view  the  law  with  complacency,  and  willingly 
submit  to  its  authority;  which  is,  in  other  words,  to  be  willing 
to  suffer  its  penal  infliction. 


220  The  Ehliim  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

In  regard  to  the  first  of  these  difficulties,  we  need  only  here 
remark,  that  the  law  does  not  prescribe  any  particular  forms  or 
conditions,  as  requisite  to  its  requirements.  It  lays  down  the 
great  principle  of  supreme  love  and  devotion  to  the  glory  of 
God,  and  leaves  to  the  determinations  of  God's  providence,  the 
manner  and  circumstances  in  which  this  principle  shall  be 
brought  into  exercise.  The  law  does  not  require  the  devils  to 
ascend  into  heaven ;  and  its  penalty  forbids  it.  It  does  not,  how- 
ever, forbid,  but  by  its  scourge  enforces  the  demand  of  supreme 
love  and  obedience  to  God,  even  in  hell,  and  unrepining  acquies- 
cence in  the  punishment  which  his  glory  requires  for  their  sins. 
Of  this,  however,  more  hereafter. 

But  it  may  be  thought  unreasonable  to  require  acquiescence 
in  the  penal  infliction.  This  idea  results  from  a  mistaken  appre- 
hension, as  to  what  it  is  of  which  the  acquiescence  is  predicated. 
It  is  true  that  every  being  must  recoil  from  misery  as  such ;  and 
as  true  of  the  slightest  pain  or  discomfort  we  can  realize,  as,  of 
the  intensest  agonies  of  hell.  But  in  this  respect,  the  misery 
of  the  sinner  is  no  more  pleasing  to  God,  than  to  the  victim 
himself.  "  He  doth  not  afflict  willingly,  nor  grieve  the  children 
of  men." — Lam.  iii.  33.  "As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  have 
no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked." — Ezek.  xxxiii.  11.  And 
yet  he  afflicts  the  righteous,  and  pours  out  his  fury  upon  the 
wicked.  Afflictions,  as  they  are  suffering,  he  does  not  himself 
delight  in,  nor  does  he  require  it  of  the  creatures.  But  as 
satisfaction  to  his  justice,  as  a  means  to  his  own  glory,  not  only 
is  it,  in  general,  true  that  he  approves  it,  but  even  when  the 
victim  was  the  spotless  Son  of  his  love,  "  it  pleased  the  Lord  to 
bruise  him;"  and,  whilst  recoiling  nature,  in  the  Son,  cries,  in 
the  bitter  agony,  "  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass 
from  me,"  he,  who  is  our  pattern,  and  has  shown  us  perfectly 
what  the  law  demands,  by  what  he  wrought  and  endured,  adds 
in  holy  acquiescence,  even  when  the  "pains  of  hell  got  hold  upon" 
him, — "  yet  not  my  will,  but  thine,  be  done."  This  holy  example, 
every  Christian,  in  his  measure,  imitates,  whilst  he,  with  the  great 
apostle,  "glories  in  infirmities,  that  the  power  of  Christ  may  rest 
upon  him."     As,  therefore,  the  law  does  not  require  sinners  to 


sect,  xiv.]  The  Laio  of  God.  221 

delight  in  that  which  is  not  pleasing  to  God  himself,  that  is,  misery 
in  itself  considered;  and  as  the  cases  above  cited  and  the  hourly 
experience  of  all  attest  that  we  may  and  do  look  upon  suffering 
with  complacency  in  view  of  proportionate  ends  to  be  accomplished 
by  it,  the  contradiction  and  impossibility  which  are  apprehended 
vanish. 

It  may,  however,  be  thought  that  the  difficulty  still  remains, 
on  the  other  hand ; — that  acquiescence  and  delight  in  the  will  and 
glory  of  God,  as  seen  in  his  judgments,  would  rob  the  curse  of 
its  sting  and  the  penalty  of  its  power;  so  that  still  suffering  is 
incompatible  with  coincident  obedience  to  the  law.  But  is  it  so, 
that  a  spirit  of  rebellion  is  essential  to  give  the  penalty  its 
power  ?  Is  it  so,  that  the  Governor  and  Judge  of  all  is  de- 
pendent on  the  hostile  co-operation  of  the  victim,  in  order  to 
enforce  the  threatening  of  his  law  ?  Is  it  true,  that  he  has  no 
other  means  for  the  punishment  of  sin,  than  the  skilful  employ- 
ment of  those  which  flow  as  natural  results  from  the  sin  itself, 
in  the  heart  and  nature  of  the  sinner  ?  How,  then,  are  we  to 
explain  the  history  of  Him  who  "  was  led  as  a  lamb  to  the 
slaughter,  and,  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  he 
opened  not  his  mouth"?  The  history  of  his  life  and  death,  alike 
vindicate  his  own  declaration,  "  I  was  not  rebellious,  neither 
turned  away  back.  I  gave  my  back  to  the  smiters,  and  my 
cheeks  to  them  that  plucked  off  the  hair.  I  hid  not  my  face  from 
shame  and  spitting." — Isa.  1.  5,  6.  Yet  was  he  "  a  man  of  sor- 
rows, and  acquainted  with  grief;  .  .  .  stricken,  smitten  of  God,  and 
afflicted." — Isa.  liii.  3,  4.  The  assumption  here  opposed,  leads, 
in  fact,  to  the  conclusion  that  the  blood  of  Christ  was  shed  in 
vain.  If  the  penalty  is  only  in  its  nature  competent  to  bring 
suffering  to  those  who  continue  to  rebel,  and  submission  of 
itself  forms  heaven  in  the  soul,  this  implies,  in  other  words, 
that  justice  is  satisfied  with  submission,  without  any  penal  in- 
fliction; and,  in  order  to  the  salvation  of  sinners,  it  was  only 
needful  that  the  Holy  Spirit  should  by  his  transforming  power 
subdue  the  enmity,  and  bring  the  will  to  conformity  with  the 
will  of  God.  So  that  the  agonies  of  Calvary,  if  this  doctrine 
be  true,  were   suffered  without    necessity.      True,  indeed,  he 


222  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

who  should  without  repining  bow  his  neck  to  the  stroke  of  jus- 
tice, and  sin  no  more,  would  not  be  condemned  by  the  law  to 
endure  the  fearful  scourge  of  the  hardened  and  resisting  rebel. 
But  this  is  only  to  say  that  one  transgression  is  not  punished 
with  the  aggravated  doom  that  follows  multiplied  offences  and 
persistent  rebellion. 

Thus,  we  conclude  that  neither  transgression,  nor  the  disorder 
and  ruin  in  the  nature  of  the  creature  which  results  from  sin, 
nor  the  dominion  of  corruption,  nor  the  bondage  of  the  penalty, 
abrogates  or  relaxes  the  duty  of  active  obedience  to  the  precepts 
of  the  law.  They  retain  their  integrity  and  enforce  their  de- 
mands, though  transgression  be  continual,  man's  nature  a  ruin, 
and  the  penalty  enforced  in  the  lowest  hell. 

Whilst  we  thus  assert  the  unchangeableness  of  the  divine  law, 
it  is  not  thereby  meant  to  imply  that  the  obligations  resulting 
a  15  it  suits  fr°m  its  precept  are  circumstantially  the  same,  in 
itself  to  ail  all  the  varying  conditions  of  the  creature.  On  the 
cases.  contrary,   the   flexibility   which   adapts   it   to   the 

guidance  of  the  creature,  in  every  variety  of  situations,  is  an 
eminent  trait  of  its  perfection.  The  same  principle  of  supreme 
love  to  God,  and  regard  to  his  glory,  under  the  guidance  of 
which  Adam  in  innocence  came  freely  into  the  immediate  pre- 
sence of  his  Maker,  now  precludes  approach,  except  through  a 
Mediator.  The  same  rule  which  at  first  enforced  on  him  a 
grateful  appreciation  of  the  integrity  in  which  he  was  clothed, — 
after  his  fall,  demanded  self-loathing,  and  repentance  for  sin; 
and  upon  the  coming  in  of  the  promise,  required  faith  in  the 
blood  of  the  covenant.  As  we  have  seen,  the  ultimate  principle 
from  whence  the  several  precepts  of  the  law  originate,  is  the 
duty  to  glorify  God.  Hence  arise  the  two  tables  which  require 
supreme  love  to  God,  and  equal  love  to  our  neighbour.  These 
two  comprehend  every  requirement  of  the  decalogue.  This  is 
sufficiently  evident  in  itself,  and  is  unequivocally  asserted  by 
the  Lord  Jesus: — "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God,  with  all 
thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind.  This 
is  the  first  and  great  commandment.  And  the  second  is  like 
unto  it :  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself.     On  these 


sect,  xiv.]  The  Law  of  God.  223 

two  commandments  hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets." — Matt, 
xxii.  37-40.  To  the  same  purpose  is  the  language  of  Paul : — 
"  He  that  loveth  another  hath  fulfilled  the  law.  For  this,  Thou 
shalt  not  commit  adultery,  Thou  shalt  not  kill,  thou  shalt  not 
steal,  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness,  Thou  shalt  not  covet; 
and  if  there  be  any  other  commandment,  it  is  briefly  compre- 
hended in  this  saying,  namely :  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as 
thyself.  Love  worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbour;  therefore  love  is 
the  fulfilling  of  the  law." — Bom.  xiii.  8-10.  Hence  the  Shorter 
Catechism  declares  that  "The  rule  which  God  at  first  revealed 
to  man  for  his  obedience  was  the  moral  law;"  and  immediately 
adds  that  this  rule,  "the  moral  law,  is  summarily  compre- 
hended in  the  ten  commandments ;"  thus  identifying  the  deca- 
logue, in  its  essential  principles,  with  the  law  of  creation. 

But  it  may  not  be  so  readily  perceived  how  repentance  and 
faith  were  embraced  in  that  law ;  since  they  suppose  sin,  which 
the  law  forbids.  True; — but,  despite  the  law,  sin  has  entered. 
Now,  what  says  the  law  to  the  sinner  ?  Precisely  the  same  that 
it  spake  before  transgression: — "Glorify  God  in  your  body  and 
spirit,  which  are  God's."  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy  heart."  But  love  to  God  means  nothing,  if  it  does 
not  imply  hatred  to  whatever  is  opposed  to  him.  His  glory 
cannot  be  asserted,  without  abasing  whatever  exalts  itself 
against  him.  To  love  his  holiness,  is  the  same  thing  as  to  abhor 
its  opposite.  Thus,  he  who  finds  sin  in  himself — as  it  is  opposi- 
tion to  God's  glory,  dishonour  to  his  holiness,  and  rebellion 
against  his  sovereignty — is  obliged  to  exercise  self-loathing  and 
abasement,  to  hate  his  sin  and  turn  from  it,  by  the  terms  of  the 
very  precept  which  was  inscribed  on  the  heart  of  innocence  in 
the  garden.  So  also  of  faith.  The  sinner  sees,  in  the  work  and 
offices  of  Christ,  justice  satisfied,  and  mercy  revealed;  the 
powers  of  darkness  destroyed,  and  the  race  of  man  redeemed; 
God's  wisdom,  holiness  and  truth  vindicated ;  and  new  lustre 
shed  on  all  the  attributes  of  the  divine  nature.  His  duty  of 
love  to  God  and  zeal  for  his  glory  at  once  calls  him  to  admire 
and  adore  the  wisdom,  grace  and  glory  here  revealed,  and  yield 
himself  a  willing;;  and  obedient  servant  to  Him  that  was  cruci- 


224  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

fied;  believing  his  word,  and  trusting  his  love  and  power  for 
salvation. 

Another  point  which  it  is  important  to  note,  is  that  the  duty 
of  repentance  and  new  obedience  which  the  law  thus  imposes 
upon  transgressors,  it  enjoins  entirely  irrespective  of  any  plan 
of  salvation  which  God  may  in  his  grace  devise.  The  fact  that 
Satan  has  no  escape  from  the  chains  of  darkness,  makes  it  none 
the  less  his  duty  to  loathe  and  abhor  his  sins,  and  adore  and 
serve  his  Creator  and  Judge.  Had  no  Saviour  ever  been  pro- 
vided for  our  ruined  world,  sin  would  have  been  just  as  evil  as 
now,  and  abhorrence  of  it  and  return  to  obedience  as  much  the 
duty  of  every  child  of  Adam.  Because  individuals  severally 
have  no  pledge  that  they  are  predestinated  to  a  place  among  the 
ransomed  throng,  no  one  is  any  the  less  required  to  abase  him- 
self in  the  dust,  and  adore  the  justice  which  will  not  let  sin  go 
unpunished.  Although  they  do  not  know  that  Christ  died  with 
a  purpose  of  salvation  personally  for  them,  it  still  becomes  and 
is  required  of  them,  to  admire  and  rejoice  in  the  glorious  grace 
which  is  revealed  in  the  cross.  The  law  is  not  less  righteous, 
nor  its  precept  less  binding,  because  of  transgressions  already 
wrought,  or  the  curse  already  realized.  It  not  only  enjoins  on 
the  angelic  hosts  perfect  holiness  and  loftiest  praise;  on  the 
ransomed  throng  in  heaven,  all  the  holy  affections  and  joyful 
adoration  which  they  exercise;  and  on  believers  here,  every 
grace  of  the  Spirit;  but  upon  devils  and  wicked  men,  deep 
abasement  and  repentance;  and  upon  all,  universal  obedience, 
as  imperative  and  as  perfect  as  though  sin  had  never  shed  a 
stain  on  the  fair  creation  of  God. 

Yet,  whilst  thus  the  law  enjoins  every  duty,  it  provides  no  re- 
lief from  the  condemnation  of  past  transgressions,  even  to  the 
humble  penitent  who  walks  in  new  obedience.  It  knows  nothing 
but  precept  and  penalty;  and  the  sinner  who  shall  come  to  the 
tribunal  of  the  law,  clothed  in  every  grace, — though  he  have  re- 
pentance, and  faith,  and  love,  and  joy ;  if  he  have  not  some  better 
way  than  these,  will  not  find  them  all  avail  to  purchase  indem- 
nity, or  even  to  mitigate  the  punishment  of  one  little  sin.  At 
the  bar  of  rectitude  his  graces  will  all  confess,  "  We  are  un- 


sect,  xv.]  The  Law  of  God.  225 

profitable  servants;  we  have  done  that  which  was  our  duty  to  do." 
Hence  the  apostle  declares  that  "  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  there 
shall  no  flesh  be  justified  in  His  sight;  for  by  the  law  is  the 
knowledge  of  sin,"— Rom.  iii.  20;  and  again,  "  If  righteousness 
come  by  the  law,  then  Christ  is  dead  in  vain." — Gal.  ii.  21. 

The  reduction  of  the  requirements  of  the  law  to  the  form  of  a 
written  code  after  the  fall,  was  a  singular  act  of  grace  to  man. 
3 16  Offices  Prior  to  the  fall,  the  law  written  on  Adam's  heart 
of  the  written  constituted  an  abundant  revelation  of  moral  excel- 
Law-  lence,  for  his  imitation ;  and  the  one  principle  of  love 

was  sufficient  for  his  guidance,  thus  enlightened,  in  the  right 
performance  of  all  his  duties.  By  the  apostasy,  the  clearness 
and  truthfulness  of  Adam's  spiritual  vision  was  lost.  He  no 
longer  sees  holiness  in  its  true  beauty,  nor  sin  in  its  real  de- 
formity. To  man,  thus  involved  in  darkness,  the  written  law 
was  given  as  "  a  lamp  to  his  feet  and  a  light  to  his  path."  "  It 
was  added  because  of  transgressions,  till  the  Seed  should  come, 
to  whom  the  promise  was  made." — Gal.  iii.  19.  The  reannounce- 
ment  of  the  law,  in  such  circumstances,  was  a  proclamation  of 
mercy ;  even  although  every  precept  was  arrayed  in  curses.  It 
was  a  pledge  that  God's  love  still  rested  on  man,  since  he  pro- 
vided thus  for  dispelling  his  moral  darkness ;  and,  in  the  fact 
that  the  precept  was  thus  repeated,  man  had  an  assurance  that 
the  curse  was  not  yet  endowed  with  the  sceptre.  The  offices  of' 
the  law,  thus  given,  are  several.  (1.)  It  constitutes  a  new  reve- 
lation of  the  divine  perfections,  which  had  before  shone  imme- 
diately on  the  soul,  in  unveiled  radiance  and  beauty.  That  reve- 
lation being  lost,  and  its  light  extinguished,  God  gives  it  here 
anew,  in  a  form  and  permanence  which  are  independent  of  the 
blinded  mind  and  perverse  will  of  fallen  man.  As  such,  its  in- 
structions and  provisions  are  paramount.  They  supersede  any 
obscure  traces  which  may  still  remain  of  the  law  written  in  the 
heart,  in  its  office  as  a  standard  of  reference  by  which  to  put 
a  difference  between  the  holy  and  unholy,  the  pure  and  the  vile. 
(2.)  It  is  a  reassertion  and  enforcement  of  God's  sovereignty7 
unimpaired  by  man's  treason  and  rebellion.  In  this  capacity  it 
comes  with  precisely  the  same  authority  which  was  at  first  pos- 

15 


226  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  v. 

sessed  by  the  law  in  the  heart, — to  wit,  the  absolute  authority 
of  God,  the  Creator.  This,  its  supreme  authority,  is  attested 
and  sealed  by  conscience,  God's  minister  sitting  in  the  heart. 
(3.)  It  is  given  to  make  sin  inexcusable, — to  discover  and  convict 
in  its  true  enormity  the  depravity,  which,  in  the  ungodly,  other- 
wise lies  undiscovered.  This  it  does  in  two  ways.  It  exposes 
the  evil  of  the  deeds  of  men,  by  comparison  with  its  require- 
ments ;  and  it  arouses  the  depravity  of  the  heart  into  action,  by 
presenting  before  it  the  image  of  that  Holy  One  whom  the  carnal 
nature  instinctively  hates.  By  the  hostility  thus  aroused,  it  is 
detected  and  exposed,  in  its  true  character,  as  enmity  against 
God.  "  The  law  entered  that  the  offence  might  abound."  "  Sin, 
taking  occasion  by  the  commandment,  deceived  me,  and  by  it  slew 
me." — Rom.  v.  20,  vii.  11.  This  it  does,  not  by  efficiently 
causing,  but  by  drawing  out,  and  condemning,  sin.  (4.)  It  serves 
as  a  schoolmaster  to  bring  us  to  Christ ;  and  this,  alike  as  its 
terrors  constitute  a  scourge  of  conviction,  attesting  to  us  our 
need  of  a  mediator ;  and  as  its  instructions  testify  of  Him,  by 
whom  all  its  precepts  are  fulfilled,  and  its  curse  satisfied. 
(5.)  It,  further,  is  a  sanctifying  agent  to  the  people  of  Christ.  It 
serves  as  a  guide  to  lead  their  feet  through  the  darkness  of  this 
world  to  the  light  of  heaven.  This  it  does,  not  by  its  scourge  of 
terrors,  but  by  detecting  and  exposing  to  their  abhorrence,  the 
corruptions  which  remain  in  them;  and  by  the  exhibition  to 
their  faith  of  the  beauty  of  God's  holiness.  "  Where  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty.  But  we  all,  with  open  face  be- 
holding, as  in  a  glass,  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  are  changed  into 
the  same  image,  from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  by  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord."— 2  Cor.  iii.  17,  18. 

We  have  said  that  the  very  reannouncement  of  the  law  to 
fallen  man,  was  a  pledge  of  grace.  Nor  is  it  a  ground  of  de- 
lusive confidence.  It  is  true,  that  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  no 
flesh  shall  be  justified.  It  is  faith  that  justifies.  And  yet,  not 
faith,  but  that  perfect  obedience  which  it  pleads; — that  spotless 
righteousness  of  One,  behind  whom  faith  hides  alike  itself  and 
the  sinner.  As  Immanuel  appears  at  the  tribunal  of  justice,  and 
bows  to  the  stroke  of  the  curse,  the  law  shines  forth  in  new 


sect,  xvi.]  The  Law  of  God.  227 

honour  by  his  obedience  until  death ;  and  justice  smiles  in  perfect 
satisfaction,  and  adorns  the  ungodly  in  robes  of  attested  inno- 
cence, and  garlands  of  paradise.  Thus  is  the  believer  justified, 
— not  by  a  legal  righteousness,  as  of  his  own  performing;  and 
yet,  by  a  righteousness  the  merit  of  which  is  in  its  conformity  to 
the  law;  and  whose  acceptance  is  at  its  bar,  on  the  ground  of  a 
complete  satisfaction  to  all  its  claims;  the  righteousness  of 
another,  even  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  "made  of  a  woman, 
made  under  the  law,  to  redeem  them  that  were  under  the 
law,  that  we  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons." — Gal.  iv.  4,  5. 
Thus  the  holiness  of  God  is  illustrated,  and  his  justice  main- 
tained ;  the  eternal  authority  of  the  royal  law  is  vindicated,  and 
its  honour  restored;  whilst,  by  its  award,  the  ungodly  are  justi- 
fied, and  sinners  enthroned  as  sons  of  God.  "  Oh  the  depth  of  the 
riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God!  How  un- 
searchable are  his  judgments,  and  his  ways  past  finding  out!" 
— Rom.  xi.  33. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    PRINCIPLE    OF    THE    LAW. 

Whilst  the  eternal  power  and  Godhead  of  the  Most  High  are 
clearly  seen  in  the  things  that  are  made,  the  Scriptures  announce 
1 1.  God's  t°  us  another  class  of  divine  attributes,  of  which  the 
moral  attH-  mere  works  of  creation,  as  such,  contain  no  trace ;  and 
butes-  which  no  amount  of  merely  intellectual  capacity  and 

research  could  either  discover  or  apprehend.  They  are  enume- 
rated and  described  in  the  Scriptures  under  various  designations, 
such  as,  wisdom,  righteousness,  justice,  truth,  goodness,  love 
and  mercy.  The  consummate  designation  in  which  these  all  are 
comprehended  is,  holiness ;  and  God,  as  possessed  of  these  attri- 
butes, announces  himself  as  he  "whose  name  is,  Holy."  These 
various  titles  are  not  intended  to  designate  characteristics 
peculiar  to  the  creative  and  providential  working  of  God;  nor 
accidents  merely  of  the  divine  subsistence;  but  ineffable  har- 
monies, which  are  essential,  eternal  and  unchangeable  in  the 
very  being  and  essence  of  the  Triune  God.  These  attributes,  as 
they  are  essential  in  the  nature  of  the  I  am,  must  of  necessity 
have  their  proper  relation  to,  and  termination  in,  God  him- 
self. If  love,  for  example,  be  so  essential  in  God,  that  the 
Scriptures  declare  that  "  God  is  love,"  it  follows  that  there 
is  a  sphere  in  the  divine  nature  appropriate  to  the  exercise  of 
love,  even  though  the  creation  had  never  been  formed,  nor  man 
experienced  the  riches  of  redeeming  grace.  Further,  these  at- 
tributes are  all  characteristic  of  relations  of  community.  Right- 
eousness, truth,  justice,  goodness,  love, — all  these  are  indicative 
of  moral  relations  between  parties ;  and,  since  they  are  essential 
in  the  divine  nature,  they  attest  the  essential  and  necessary 
plurality  of  the  divine  subsistence.     Having  their  fundamental 

228 


sect,  l]  The  Principle  of  the  Law.  229 

basis  in  the  unity  of  the  divine  essence,  their  essential  position 
is  in  the  sphere  of  the  relations  which  subsist  between  the  Per- 
sons of  the  Godhead.  Of  the  inscrutable  and  adorable  moral 
relations  thus  indicated,  the  Scriptures  give  many  intimations. 
The  most  signal  and  interesting  of  these  consist  in  the  covenant 
provisions,  which  were  eternally  made  by  the  Godhead,  for  the 
revelation  of  the  divine  glories,  in  creation  and  providence,  and 
especially  in  the  salvation  of  man.  Of  that  eternal  covenant, 
we  shall  hereafter  speak  particularly.  It  is  sufficient,  here,  to 
remark,  that  its  formation  is  only  explicable  upon  the  admission 
that  the  Persons  of  the  Godhead  do  sustain  toward  each  other 
relations  such  as  we  have  attributed  to  them ; — that  the  announce- 
ment to  us  of  such  a  covenant  is  manifestly  designed  to  make 
known  to  us  these  relations ; — that  the  infallible  fulfilment  of  its 
terms  we  are  taught  to  expect,  upon  the  ground  of  the  faithful- 
ness of  the  several  Persons,  as  pledged  in  it  to  the  relations 
thus  revealed;  and  that  every  element  in  the  covenant,  and 
step  in  its  fulfilment,  tends  to  the  unfolding  and  illustration  of 
them. 

The  student  of  the  nature  of  God,  who  should  pause  with  the 
doctrine  of  the  unity  of  the  divine  essence,  would  deprive  him- 
self of  access  to  any  but  the  natural  attributes  of  the  infinite 
Spirit.  Viewing  God  in  the  single  light  of  his  indivisible  es- 
sence, there  is  no  basis  upon  which  we  can  arrive  at  the  disco- 
very of  any  other  characteristics  than  such  as  belong  to  bound- 
less power  and  intelligence, — such  as  self-existence,  immensity, 
omnipotence,  eternity,  omniscience,  mechanical  ingenuity  and 
skill, — the  attributes  of  an  infinite  artificer.  It  is  not  until  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is  recognised  that  we  discover  any  ground 
upon  which  we  can  ascribe  moral  attributes  to  God,  as  essential 
in  him;  or  attach  any  meaning  to  the  phraseology  in  which  such 
ascriptions  are  made.  He  who  denies  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 
may,  notwithstanding,  attribute  a  moral  nature  to  the  Almighty. 
But  what  idea  can  we  attach  to  the  title,  righteous,  as  applied 
to  One  who,  a  simple  unit,  fills  an  eternal  solitude?  What  is 
meant  by  calling  him,  true,  who  has  no  communion  with  any; 
as  there  is  no  existence  beside  him  ?     It  may  be  said  that  God 


230  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  vi. 

is  righteous  and  true  in  his  dealings  with  his  creatures.  But 
the  recognition  of  any  attribute  in  God,  the  termination  of 
which  is  necessarily  in  the  creatures,  forces  us  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  creation  is  necessary  to  him;  so,  denying  his  indepen- 
dence, and,  therefore,  his  infinitude  and  Godhead;  or  else  com- 
pels us  to  admit  the  supposed  attribute  to  be  a  mere  accident  of 
the  Creator's  voluntary  relation  to  his  works;  and,  therefore, 
not  predicable  of  the  divine  essence.  The  stoical  doctrine  of  the 
relation  of  Jove  to  Fate,  is  a  common  resource,  to  escape  from 
the  difficulty  here  suggested.  The  theory  of  "the  nature  of 
things,"  which  we  have  before  considered,  is  only  pagan  stoicism 
modernized,  and  assuming  a  more  specious  name.  The  doctrine, 
however  false,  and  deistical  in  its  elements  and  tendencies,  is  so 
far  valuable,  as  it  attests  the  necessity  which  the  soul  of  man 
realizes,  for  a  plurality,  in  order  to  a  moral  nature  in  God; — a 
necessity  which  induces  the  ascription  of  divine  attributes  to 
something  else  than  God  himself;  be  it  known  as  Fate,  or  the 
Nature  of  Things,  the  Eternal  Principles,  or  whatever  else.  If 
the  theory  is  sometimes  held  by  those  who  in  terms  recognise 
the  Trinity,  its  logical  relations  are  none  the  less  certain;  and 
it  will  be  found  ordinarily  associated,  in  such  cases,  with  exceed- 
ingly inadequate  conceptions  of  the  true  doctrine  of  the  Triune 
God.  The  ascription  of  moral  attributes  to  God,  implies  rela- 
tions,— implies  community.  And  if  the  attributes  belong  to  his 
essence,  so  must  the  relations  and  community  which  they  imply. 
Thus,  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  unity,  comprehending  with  it 
the  natural  attributes,  constitutes  the  vestibule  of  the  temple  of 
divine  truth,  in  which  the  revelation  goes  no  further  than  is  suf- 
ficient to  attest  of  God,  that  He  is.  The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 
is  the  door,  through  which  entering,  we  see  unfolding  the  inner 
mysteries  of  God,  the  moral  glories  of  the  divine  nature;  in 
which  is  contained  the  full  response  to  the  question,  what  He  is, 
— to  wit,  a  Spirit,  infinite,  eternal  and  unchangeable  in  his  being, 
wisdom,  power,  holiness,  justice,  goodness  and  truth. 

The  moral  attributes  of  the  divine  nature,  as  essential  in  it, 
and  exercised  between  the  divine  Persons,  constitute  the  ground 
of  the  infinite  blessedness  of  God.     Of  this  we  have  intimation 


sect,  i.]  The  Principle  of  the  Law.  231 

in  many  places  in  the  Scriptures.  Thus,  in  a  passage  to  which 
we  have  already  given  special  consideration,  the  Son  of  God 
says,  in  respect  to  the  eternity  which  was  before  the  creation, 
"Then  I  was  by  him  (the  Father),  as  one  brought  up  with  him: 
and  I  was  daily  his  delight,  rejoicing  always  before  him." — Prov. 
viii.  30.  In  the  prayer  which  closed  his  ministry  upon  earth,  the 
Eedeemer  says  to  the  Father,  "And  now,  0  Father,  glorify 
thou  me  with  thine  own  self,  with  the  glory  which  I  had  with  thee 
before  the  world  was." — John  xvii.  5.  Here,  the  Son  alludes 
to  a  glory  enjoyed  by  him,  arising  out  of  voluntary  though 
eternal  moral  relations  between  him  and  the  Father.  So,  the 
first  expression,  given  by  the  Son  to  his  consent  to  undertake 
for  man,  is  in  terms  of  infinite  love  to  the  Father,  and  compla- 
cence in  his  will: — "Lo,  I  come,  I  delight  to  do  thy  will,  0  my 
God;  yea,  thy  law  is  within  my  heart." — Ps.  xl.  7,  8.  This  lan- 
guage, is  undoubtedly  characteristic  of  the  Son  as  incarnate. 
But,  as  it  is  indicative  of  the  reason  of  the  assumption  of  the 
flesh,  it  applies  more  immediately  to  his  antecedent  state.  On 
the  other  hand,  "  the  Father  loveth  the  Son,  and  hath  given 
all  things  into  his  hand." — John  iii.  35. 

The  attributes,  thus  essential  in  the  nature  of  God, — thus 
characteristic  of  him  as  the  Triune, — thus  inscrutably  exercised 
I  2.  God  gio-  among  those  blessed  Persons,  in  ineffable  harmonies 
ries  in  them.  and  infinite  blessedness  and  glory, — are  regarded 
with  an  infinite  complacence  and  delight  by  that  glorious  One, 
in  whom  they  thus  dwell.  "The  righteous  Lord  loveth  right- 
eousness."— Psalm  xi.  7.  And  the  discovery  and  honour  of 
these  moral  perfections  was  the  principal  end  had  in  view,  in 
the  whole  plan  and  work  of  God.  This  appears  very  clearly 
attested,  in  that  remarkable  revelation  which  was  made  by  God 
to  Moses,  at  Mount  Sinai.  Moses  asked  the  Lord,  "I  beseech 
thee,  shew  me  thy  glory.  And  he  said,  I  will  make  all  my  good- 
ness pass  before  thee,  and  I  will  proclaim  the  name  of  the  Lord 
before  thee ;  and  will  be  gracious  to  whom  I  will  be  gracious, 
and  will  shew  mercy  on  whom  I  will  shew  mercy.  And  he  said, 
Thou  canst  not  see  my  face ;  for  there  shall  no  man  see  me  and 
live.     And  the  Lord  said,  Behold  there  is  a  place  by  me,  and 


232  The  EloJilm  Revealed.  [chap.  vi. 

thou  shalt  stand  upon  a  rock :  and  it  shall  come  to  pass,  while 
my  glory  passeth  by,  that  I  will  put  thee  in  a  cleft  of  the  rock, 
and  will  cover  thee  with  my  hand  while  I  pass  by :  and  I  will 
take  away  mine  hand,  and  thou  shalt  see  my  back  parts;  but 
my  face  shall  not  be  seen." — Ex.  xxxiii.  18-23.  In  fulfilment 
of  this  promise,  "the  Lord  passed  by  before  him,  and  pro- 
claimed, The  Lord,  the  Loed  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long- 
suffering,  and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping  mercy 
for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity  and  transgression  and  sin,  and 
that  will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty ;  visiting  the  iniquity  of 
the  fathers  upon  the  children,  and  upon  the  children's  children, 
unto  the  third  and  to  the  fourth  generation." — Ex.  xxxiv.  6,  7. 
Thus  did  God  proclaim  to  Moses,  the  moral  perfections  of  his 
nature,  as  being  the  highest  glories  of  the  Godhead  which  crea- 
ture is  capable  to  apprehend. 

Further,  Moses  is  here  assured  that,  as  to  the  essential  glory 
of  God, — that  ineffable  unity,  harmony  and  love  which  subsist 
between  the  Persons,  by  virtue  of  their  common  subsistence  in 
the  one  divine  essence, — that  glory  which  the  blessed  Three  be- 
hold in  each  other  and  realize  in  themselves, — it  is  beyond  the 
power  of  mortal  vision.  "Whom  no  man  hath  seen,  nor  can 
see." — 1  Tim.  vi.  16.  Not  the  face,  but  the  back  parts  of  Je- 
hovah are  revealed  to  the  adoration  of  Moses  and  the  people  of 
God.  The  perfections  of  God  are  not  made  known  in  their 
essential  aspect.  If  thus  disclosed,  either  would  they  be  alto- 
gether unintelligible  to  the  creatures,  or  else  finite  powers  must 
fail,  and  the  beholders  must  wither  and  perish  under  the  con- 
suming power  of  the  intolerable  light.  Hence,  the  creatures 
are  not  called  upon  to  behold  them  in  the  light  of  their  own 
native  glory,  as  it  shines  with  infinite  brightness  from  God's  im- 
mediate face;  but  in  the  modified  light  derived  from  the  relations 
which  he  has  seen  good  to  assume  to  his  intelligent  creatures  in 
the  person  of  the  Son.  "No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time. 
The  only  begotten  Son  which  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father — 
God  manifested  in  the  flesh — he  hath  declared  him."  In  his 
person,  God  is  proclaimed  to  the  creatures,  "merciful  and  gra- 
cious, long-suffering,  and  abundant    in    goodness  and    truth." 


sect,  ii.]  The  Principle  of  the  Law.  233 

These  attributes  constitute  "a  shadow"  of  the  essential  glories 
which  they  proclaim,  "and  not  the  very  image  of  the  things." 

The  excellence  of  the  perfections,  thus  proclaimed  to  the  crea- 
tures, as  constituting  the  highest  glory  of  God,  does  not  consist 
1 3.  Their  es-  in  conformity  to  any  extrinsic  standard,  nor  in 
sentiai  nature  obedience  to  any  law,  or  rule,  binding  as  a  prin- 
ciple of  duty  or  obligation.  The  ultimate  cause  of 
this  excellence  is  the  essence  of  God;  beyond  which  there  is  no 
existence,  whether  of  principle  or  being;  and  above  which  there 
is  no  law;  upon  which,  therefore,  there  can  be  no  obligation. 
And  the  perfection  of  the  several  Persons  of  the  Godhead — the 
excellence  which  they  see  in  each  other,  and  reveal  to  the  crea- 
tures— does  not  consist  in  mutual  conformity  to  any  extrinsic 
law  or  rule  of  duty,  as  toward  each  other;  which  would  be,  to 
suppose  them,  not  only  several,  in  person,  but  in  essence  also; 
and  subordinate  to  some  superior  authority.  On  the  contrary, 
the  light  which  is  shed  upon  this  ineffable  mystery,  in  the  word 
of  God,  reveals  it  as  consisting  in  that  perfect  harmony, — that 
unanimity  in  thought,  purpose  and  action, — that  equal  mutual 
love,  delight  in  each  other's  glory,  and  community  in  it, — which 
results  immediately  and  of  necessity  from  the  fact  that  in  essence 
they  are  One,  and  that  One  is  Love.  It  would  be  absurd,  to  talk 
of  the  hand,  as  being  bound  in  a  moral  obligation  to  the  head, 
or  other  member  of  the  body,  to  protect  or  provide  for  it.  The 
relation  of  the  members  of  the  body,  as  between  themselves,  is 
not  one  of  law  and  moral  obligation ;  but  of  identity  in  the  bodv, 
and  community  of  interest.  Much  more  absurd  is  it,  to  imagine 
one  Person  of  the  blessed  Godhead,  bound  under  any  essential 
obligation  of  duty,  as  toward  another.  The  relations  are  not 
those  arising  out  of  law,  and  enforced  at  its  tribunal ;  but  rela- 
tions of  identity,  which  are  sustained  and  satisfied  by  the  per- 
fect mutual  confidence  and  trust,  resulting  from  oneness  of  glory 
and  blessedness,  will  and  power,  founded  in  absolute  oneness  of 
essence  and  Godhead.  In  other  words,  the  law,  the  only  law. 
of  the  relations  of  the  several  Persons  to  each  other,  is,  the 
unity  of  their  essence,  the  oneness  of  the  Deity.  But  "no 
man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time."     And,  whilst  thus  much  is 


234  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  vi. 

clearly  attested  by  the  Scriptures,  and  therefore  to  be  received 
by  the  people  of  God;  it  becomes  us,  here,  to  stand  in  awe, 
admire  and  adore;  rather  than  curiously  to  inquire.  Said  the 
Angel  to  Manoah,  "Why  askest  thou  my  name,  seeing  it  is 
secret?" — Judg.  xiii.  18. 

The  infinite  excellence  of  the  divine  perfections  constitutes  at 
once  the  ultimate  fact,  in  all  true  moral  science,  and  the  first 
principle  in  all  sound  argument  on  moral  questions.  And,  like 
all  other  ultimate  truths,  whilst  it  asserts  a  rightful  control  over 
all  moral  reasoning,  it  claims  independence  of  all;  and  demands 
acceptance  and  the  sceptre  in  its  own  right.  God's  perfection  is 
above  all  argument,  as  his  nature  is  above  all  comprehension. 
Its  evidence  consists  in  the  fact  that  it  is  the  sum  of  the  attri- 
butes of  the  I  am.  It  is  attested  by  the  Three  that  bear  record 
in  heaven,  who  glory  in  that  perfection.  It  is  attested  by  all 
the  blessed  hosts  of  heaven,  who  admire  and  adore  the  beauties 
which  they  behold  in  the  nature  of  God !  It  is  acknowledged 
by  the  reluctant  tribute  of  man's  alien  heart.  It  is  verified  by 
the  exulting  joy  and  praise  of  Christ's  redeemed  people;  who, 
the  more  they  learn  to  appreciate  it,  admire  and  rejoice  the 
more.  The  hostility  of  God's  enemies,  even,  testifies  to  his  ex- 
cellence; as  in  them  the  fact  is  seen,  that  none  but  the  malignant 
and  the  vile,  who  are  at  war  with  their  own  natures  as  much  as 
with  God,  doubt  or  question  his  perfection.  To  the  creatures, 
it  cannot  rationally  be  a  question,  whether  the  attributes  of  the 
Creator  are  infinitely  excellent.  He  is  the  creative  I  am,  the 
All  in  all.  As  such,  the  intelligent  creatures  discover,  in  his 
nature,  the  norm  of  their  being, — the  complement  of  their  capa- 
cities,— the  life  in  whom  they  live  and  move  and  have  their  being, 
— the  source  of  all  good  and  fountain  of  pleasure  and  blessedness, 
in  whose  presence  and  smile  there  must  be  to  them  fulness  of  joy. 
Nothing  but  the  enormous  evil  and  power  of  sin  over  the  soul 
can  explain  the  fact  that  a  question  should  ever  be  raised  on 
this  fundamental  point.  Nothing  but  atheism  can  grow  out  of 
the  fearful  skepticism  which  cavils  here.  To  him  who  hesitates 
on  this  subject  there  is  no  God,  and  the  universe  is  one  fearful 
moral  abyss,  whelming  the  soul,  over  which  clouds  and  thick  dark- 


sect,  in.]  The  Principle  of  the  Laiv.  235 

ness  gather  their  gloom.  No  wonder  that,  with  the  principles  on 
this  subject  which  Dr.  Beecher  propounds,  he  should  have 
realized  the  dark  and  distressful  experience  of  which  he  speaks 
in  his  chapter  on  "  The  eclipse  of  the  glory  of  God."*  Alas ! 
that  he  should  have  failed  to  detect  the  real  cause  and  to  seek 
the  true  and  only  remedy.  It  consists  in  the  unquestioning 
faith  of  a  little  child. 

The  fundamental  aspect,  in  which  the  revealed  attributes  of 
the  divine  nature  present  themselves,  is,  as  an  outshining  of 
3  4  d  •  /  God's  perfections;  for  the  purpose  of  being  appre- 
their  reveia-  hended  by  the  creatures,  in  their  own  proper  beauty 
tion-  and   loveliness.     The   end   accomplished,    thus,    is 

twofold; — the  honour  of  those  perfections,  as  thus  seen  and  ad- 
mired by  the  creatures ; — and  the  happiness  of  the  creatures ; 
to  whom  the  highest  blessedness  must  arise,  from  the  simple 
apprehension  of  these  admirable  features  of  their  glorious 
Creator.  These  results  flow  natively  and  immediately  from  the 
perception  of  the  divine  glory,  by  the  intelligent  creatures;  in 
whatever  mode  it  is  discovered;  whether  by  more  or  less  imme- 
diate intuition,  or  through  more  remote  reflection  from  the 
works  of  God.  And  it  is  altogether  conceivable  that  the  intelli- 
gent creatures  might  have  been  so  constituted  and  endowed  by 
the  Creator,  as  to  have  apprehended  and  rejoiced  in  the  glory 
thus  revealed,  as  in  itself  worthy  of  all  admiration,  for  its  beauty 
and  propriety  to  God, — without  realizing  any  obligation  to  imi- 
tate it;  or  sustaining  any  such  relations  or  possessing  such  at- 
tributes as  to  render  the  imitation  possible.  Evidently,  that 
sense  of  obligation  which  we  realize,  impelling  us  to  the  imita- 
tion of  God's  perfections,  does  not  result,  immediately  and  of 
necessity,  from  the  mere  fact  that  we  are  endowed  with  an  ap- 
prehension of  them;  but  is  superadded  by  God,  as  a  distinct 
element  in  the  means  which  he  has  provided,  for  the  display  of 
his  own  glory  and  the  happiness  of  the  creatures.  It  is  true 
that  to  us,  as  now  constituted,  the  apprehension  does  bring  with 
it  a  corresponding  obligation.     But  the  two  elements  are  clearly 

*  Beecher's  Conflict  of  Ages,  chap.  xiii. 


236  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  vi. 

traceable  to  different  springs.  Had  God  not  enjoined  upon  the 
creatures  the  imitation  of  what  they  see  in  him,  but  left  them 
to  their  own  discretion,  there  would  have  been  a  propriety,  a 
fitness  and  beauty,  in  the  imitation;  but  no  obligation,  no 
binding  authority.  The  propriety  and  beauty  of  holiness  arise 
out  of  the  nature  of  the  Holy  One.  The  duty  implies  obliga- 
tion, authority;  and  arises  from  the  will  of  the  sovereign 
Creator.  By  endowing  the  moral  intelligences  with  attributes, 
and  placing  them  in  relations,  adapted  to  the  imitation  of  his 
moral  character,  and  planting  in  their  bosoms  a  sense  of  the 
obligation  and  duty  of  such  imitation,  the  Creator  has  provided, 
in  a  most  wonderful  manner,  for  his  own  glory  and  the  good  of 
the  creatures.  His  glory  is  enhanced,  as,  in  every  moral  intel- 
ligence, its  likeness  is  shed  abroad  and  beheld  by  all ;  and  as, 
thereby,  his  goodness  is  especially  illustrated,  in  the  consequent 
happiness  which  they  realize.  They  are  thus  blessed,  not  only 
in  beholding  the  images,  which,  all  around,  shine  in  the  beauty 
of  the  Creator's  likeness;  but  also,  as,  in  the  imitation  of  the 
moral  nature  of  God,  they  realize  a  happiness  like  that  which  is 
essential  in  him,  by  virtue  of  his  glorious  holiness. 

In  the  adaptation  of  the  created  intelligences  to  offices  and 
ends  such  as  are  here  indicated,  the  elements  in  their  constitu- 
tions, which  are  of  the  most  significance,  as  relating  to  the  pre- 
sent subject,  are,  their  moral  natures,  and  personality.  The 
word,  nature,  we  have  formerly  defined  to  be  the  designation  of 
a  permanent  force,  dwelling  in  a  substance.  A  moral  nature  is 
one,  the  essential  characteristics  of  which  are  reason,  will,  and  the 
moral  sense,  or  conscience.  The  functions  of  conscience,  as  we 
have  also  seen,  are  two.  Its  first  and  fundamental  office  is 
the  perception  of  that  moral  beauty  and  glory  which  characterize 
the  moral  nature  of  God, — the  apprehension  of  the  loveliness 
of  holiness,  and  deformity  and  evil  of  sin.  Viewed  in  this  light, 
this  faculty  is  properly  designated,  the  moral  sense;  and  is  pre- 
dicable,  in  a  certain  sense,  of  God,  as  well  as  of  the  creatures. 
The  second  is,  the  recognition  of  the  duty  and  obligation  of 
conformity  to  the  holiness,  the  beauty  of  which  is  thus  disco- 
vered, and  of  avoiding  the  opposite.     In  this  sense,  conscience 


sect,  iv.]  The  Principle  of  tlte  Law  237 

is  the  attestation,  in  the  heart,  to  the  controlling  authority  of 
God's  will;  and  is  peculiar  to  the  creatures.  The  proper  subject 
of  a  moral  nature  is  a  spiritual  substance.  In  no  other  mode 
have  we  any  reason  to  imagine  it  possible  for  it  to  exist  at  all. 

A  person,  is  a  several  subsistence,  which  is  endowed  with  a 
moral  nature.  The  word,  person,  is  expressive  of  the  severalty; 
whilst  the  phrase,  moral  agent,  indicates  the  efficiency  of  such 
a  subsistence.  In  the  blessed  Trinity,  each  several  subsistence 
is  a  Person;  of  whom,  the  Three  subsist  in  common  in  one  un- 
divided nature  and  essence.  Among  the  angelic  hosts,  each  one 
is  a  several  person,  having  a  distinct  and  several  nature.  Among 
men,  a  nearer  likeness  of  God  is  seen,  in  a  plurality  of  persons, 
possessing  a  several  and  distributive  property  in  one  common 
nature;  whilst  their  kindred  to  the  dust  is  proclaimed  by  cor- 
poreal bodies ;  which  are  unessential  to  the  personality,  although 
essential  to  the  normal  mode  of  its  existence.  The  relationship 
which  subsists  between  men,  by  virtue  of  their  community  of 
nature,  is  a  shadow  of  the  divine  unity,  which  falls  infinitely 
short  of  the  intimacy  and  identity  which  are  realized  in  the 
blessed  Persons  of  the  Godhead.  Yet  is  it  a  very  signal  element 
in  the  matter  of  man's  moral  likeness  to  God.  It  constitutes  an 
adaptation  qualifying  him  to  imitate  the  divine  perfections,  by 
the  fulfilment  of  the  offices  growing  out  of  the  relation.  It  is 
a  feature  in  which  man  is  thus  distinguished  above  the  angels. 
And  its  counterpart  and  antitype — the  unity  of  the  saints,  by 
communion  in  one  Spirit,  and  membership  in  one  body,  the  body 
of  Christ — will  constitute  the  crowning  glory  of  all  the  splen- 
dours of  heaven. 

From  the  facts  and  considerations  at  which  we  have  thus 
glanced,  we  derive  this  conclusion, — that  the  law  is  not  to  be 
regarded  as  an  expression  of  the  mere  will  of  God,  adapted,  on 
the  principles  of  expediency,  to  our  antecedent  estate;  nor,  on 
the  other  hand,  as  the  embodiment  of  principles  in  accordance 
with  which  God  is  bound,  if  he  create,  to  govern,  his  rational 
creatures.  But,  God  having,  in  sovereignty  and  freedom,  de- 
termined to  reveal  his  own  perfections,  the  creatures  were 
formed  with  moral  endowments  and  relations,  for  the  express 


238  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  vi. 

purpose  of  fitting  them  to  correspond  with  and  satisfy  the  re- 
quirements of  a  law,  in  which  the  perfections  of  God  should  he 
set  forth.  The  law  takes  the  precedence;  it  is  first  in  the  order 
c«f  nature;  and  is  determinate  of  what  the  creatures  should  be. 
It  was  not  ordained  for  man,  or  any  other  creature.  But  they 
were  made  for  it, — for  the  exhibition  of  the  attributes,  which, 
essential  in  God,  are  revealed  in  the  law. 

The  principles  here  presented  further  indicate  at  once  the 
reason,  the  propriety  and  the  principle  of  the  law  of  God.  Its 
a  5  The  prin-  principle  is,  conformity  to  the  moral  nature  of  God ; 
cipic  thus  de-  its  reason  is,  the  revelation  of  the  glory  of  that 
duced.  nature ;  and  its  propriety  consists  in  the  excellence 

of  the  perfections  thus  honoured,  and  the  fitness  there  is  that 
the  creatures  of  God  should  concur  to  his  glory.  That  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  law  is,  as  here  stated,  conformity  of  the  creatures  to 
God's  moral  image,  the  testimony  of  the  Scriptures  is  abundant. 
"  The  law  is  holy,  and  the  commandment  holy,  and  just,  and  good." 
— Kom.  vii.  12.  And,  being  so,  its  reason  is  stated  in  those  words 
of  God, — "  Be  ye  holy,  for  I  am  holy." — 1  Pet.  i.  16.  Again,  John 
declares  that  "God  is  love,  and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love  dwelleth 
in  God,  and  God  in  him ;" — 1  John  iv.  16 ;  and,  such  being  the  case, 
the  law,  as  expounded  by  our  Saviour,  is  summed  in  two  words : 
— "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and 
with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind.  This  is  the  first  and 
great  commandment.  And  the  second  is  like  unto  it :  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself.  On  these  two  command- 
ments hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets." — Matt.  xxii.  37-40. 
And,  reducing  these  all  to  one  precept,  Paul  comprehends  the 
whole  law  in  one  word: — "Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law." — 
Rom.  xiii.  10.  This  principle  of  conformity  to  God,  is,  by  the 
Saviour,  put  at  the  basis  of  his  whole  teaching,  in  that  discourse 
on  the  mount  which  closes  an  exposition  of  the  true  nature  and 
spirituality  of  the  law  of  God,  in  these  terms: — "  Ye  have  heard 
that  it  hath  been  said,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour,  and  hate 
thine  enemy.  But  I  say  unto  you,  Love  your  enemies,  bless  them 
that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you,  and  pray  for 
them  which  despitefully  use  you  and  persecute  you;   that  ye 


sect,  iv.]  The  Principle  of  the  Law.  239 

may  be  the  children  of  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven :  for  he 
maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and  sendeth 

rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust Be  ye  therefore  perfect, 

even  as  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  is  perfect." — Matt.  v. 
43-48.  Thus  the  perfection  of  God  is  the  standard  and  model 
set  up  for  our  example  and  imitation  in  the  law. 

Whilst,  therefore,  we  have  seen  the  authority  of  the  law  of 
God  to  rest  solely  upon  the  unquestionable  and  unlimited  right 
of  God  as  Creator,  its  principle  originates  in  the  infinite  excel- 
lence of  the  nature  of  God  the  Holy,  the  God  of  love.  As  we 
have  already  suggested,  and  is  self-evident,  it  is  altogether  con- 
ceivable, and  to  God  possible,  that  he  should  have  created  beings 
competent  to  behold  and  admire,  but  not  to  imitate,  the  per- 
fections of  the  Creator.  It  is,  therefore,  certain  that  the  duty 
of  imitation  does  not  arise  of  necessity  and  per  se,  out  of  the 
beholding  them.  And  it  is  equally  certain  from  the  testimony 
of  the  Scriptures,  as  considered  in  the  last  chapter,  that  the 
obligation  does,  in  fact,  grow  out  of  the  sovereign  will  of  the 
Creator.  That  will,  as  contained  in  the  law  written  in  the 
heart  and  attested  by  conscience,  is  the  ultimate  ground  of  all 
moral  obligation,  the  ultimate  test  of  duty,  to  the  creatures. 
On  the  other  hand,  inasmuch  as  God's  will  cannot  but  be,  as  he 
is,  holy,  as  it  is  nothing  but  expression  given  to  the  perfections 
of  his  nature,  it  follows,  that  whatever  God  commands  us  must 
be  most  holy  and  excellent. 

The  defenders  of  the  authority  of  the  nature  of  things  are 
accustomed  to  insist,  that  a  rejection  of  it  involves  the  conclu- 
sion, that  there  is  no  intrinsic  difference  between  holiness  and 
sin, — that  they  are  only  discriminated  by  the  fact,  that  the  one 
is  commanded  and  the  other  forbidden.  If  there  be  indeed  no 
other  distinction  than  that  which  proceeds  from  the  nature  of 
things,  then,  truly,  is  there  no  essential  difference.  For,  as  the 
nature  of  things  is  neither  a  god  nor  even  a  creature,  it  is  im- 
possible that  any  thing  should  proceed  from  it.  But,  if  men  are 
willing  to  attribute  a  sovereignty  over  the  whole  moral  system 
to  such  a  nothing  as  is  this, — why  is  it  not  more  reasonable  to 
attribute  it,  where  most  righteously  it   belongs,  to  that   infi- 


240  TJie  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  vi. 

nite,  self-existent,  eternal  and  all-glorious  Essence,  from  whom — 
if  it  be  any  thing  at  all — even  the  nature  of  things,  with  all 
things  else,  must  have  derived  existence  ?  Is  it  absurd  to  sup- 
pose the  moral  nature  of  God,  which  is  nothing  else  but  his  very- 
essence,  to  be  self-existent,  independent,  determinate  and  un- 
changeable ?  Is  it  absurd  or  untrue  to  attribute  to  it,  as  such, 
infinite  excellence, — excellence,  not  relative,  but  absolute;  not 
ascertained  by  reference  to  any  other  standard,  but  in  and  of 
itself?  If  this  be  absurd,  it  must  be  equally  so,  in  respect  to 
any  imaginable  standard  of  excellence ;  and  the  result  is,  that, 
there  being  nothing  excellent,  in  itself,  there  can  be  no  stand- 
ard ;  and  hence  no  excellence  at  all ! 

But,  if  God's  nature  be,  as  unquestionably  it  is,  in  and  of  itself 
absolutely  excellent,  infinitely  good,  then  have  we  a  distinction, 
real,  essential  and  infinite,  between  moral  good  and  evil.  The 
one  is  the  essential  glory  of  the  blessed  God.  The  other  is  the 
negative  of  God !  Thus  have  we  an  abundantly  satisfactory 
solution  of  those  tremendous  realities,  which  eternity  is  des- 
tined to  unfold,  dependent  on  the  difference  between  good  and 
evil,  between  the  likeness  of  God,  and  that  which  he  hates. 

The  transcription  of  the  law  from  the  nature  of  God,  is  that 
which  constitutes  its  excellence;  on  which  the  Scriptures  so 
i  6  it  is  a  largely  expatiate.  Addressed  to  a  moral  sense,  with 
perfect  reve-  which  the  created  intelligences  were  endowed,  for 
the  express  purpose  of  enabling  them  to  apprehend 
the  moral  glory  of  God, — it  is  a  perfect  revelation  of  that  glory. 
In  thus  speaking,  we  view  the  law  as  inclusive  of  its  sanctions, 
as  well  as  precepts.  Both  the  penalty,  and  that  promise  which 
constitutes  it  a  covenant  of  life,  are  parts  of  the  law.  Although 
neither  of  them  is  essential  to  law,  as  such,  they  are  both — the 
promise  as  much  as  the  penalty — incorporated,  as  essential  ele- 
ments of  that  law  which  God  has  given  to  his  creatures,  as  a 
revelation  of  his  holiness,  goodness  and  justice.  Whilst  the  im- 
perative utterance  of  its  precepts  announces  the  rightful  sove- 
reignty of  the  creative  I  am, — their  provisions  proclaim  his 
purity  and  holiness,  and  his  abhorrence  of  evil ;  the  penalty  attests 
his  infinite  justice,  which  will  reward  the  evil  according  to  their 


sect,  v.]  The  Principle  of  the  Law.  241 

deeds;  and  the  promise  proclaims  his  boundless  goodness  and 
love,  lavishing  favours,  not  in  proportion  to  the  merits  of  the 
creatures,  but  according  to  the  beneficence  of  a  God.  Again,  these 
various  attributes  are  illustrated  in  the  lives  of  the  creatures, 
as  seen  in  the  light  of  the  law.  The  beauty  of  God's  holiness 
shines  in  the  holiness  of  those  who  walk  in  conformity  to  the  law ; 
— his  blessedness,  in  the  happiness  which  they  enjoy,  springing 
out  of  their  holiness ; — and  his  goodness,  in  this  and  the  added 
blessedness  which  they  realize  in  his  smile,  and  from  the  exer- 
cise toward  them  of  his  loving  power.  Yet  more  glorious  does 
that  holiness  appear,  as  it  is  contrasted  with  the  wickedness  of 
those  who  transgress  the  law;  and  the  terrible  majesty  of  his 
justice  is  seen,  in  the  punishment  which,  denounced  in  the  law, 
is  inflicted  by  the  hand  of  the  righteous  Judge.  Especially  in 
Christ  do  all  these  things  shine  in  ineffable  lustre.  Humbling  him- 
self  to  become  a  servant  to  the  law,  its  royal  authority  was  thus 
proclaimed.  His  life  of  holy  conformity  to  its  precept  consti- 
tuted him  an  ensample,  in  whom  its  perfection,  and  that  of  him 
whom  it  proclaims,  is  seen.  His  agonizing  death,  under  its  over- 
whelming curse,  was  an  astonishing  display  of  God's  inexorable 
justice;  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  compassion  toward  sinners, 
which  the  scene  of  Calvary  attests,  and  the  infliction,  which,  at 
the  demand  of  the  law,  was  laid  upon  the  Son  of  God's  love,  join 
to  witness,  that  God's  justice,  pursuing  sin,  fearful  though  it  be, 
is  infinitely  removed  from  what  we  might  imagine,  as  the  re- 
venging fury  of  incensed  Omnipotence.  They  proclaim,  in  un- 
mistakable terms,  the  penal  infliction  of  God's  curse  to  be  the 
exercise  of  a  holy  rectitude  of  One  who,  enthroned  in  calm  tran- 
quillity, far  above  the  strife  of  creature  passion,  will,  in  pure  and 
unchanging  justice,  render  the  reward  due  to  every  creature. 

In  fine,  this  holy  and  eternal  law  will  occupy  the  throne  at 
the  last  great  day.  Its  decree  will  proclaim  the  holiness,  the 
truth  and  justice,  the  goodness  and  love,  of  God,  assigning  to 
every  creature  the  righteous  award;  and,  when  that  dread 
assize  shall  be  over,  by  the  power  of  Omnipotence  will  every 
word  of  its  decrees  be  fulfilled.  Whilst  the  promise  of  the  cove- 
nant heralds  the  saints  to  heaven,  the  sword  of  the  curse  will 

16 


242  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  vi. 

pursue  the  wicked  to  hell.  In  that  world  of  woe,  the  law  fills 
the  throne.  The  blackness  of  darkness  is  the  horror  of  its 
frown.  A  fiery  wrath  is  its  only  sanction ;  and  the  thunders  of 
the  curse  are  its  only  tones.  It  testifies,  there,  in  the  unwilling 
ears  of  the  lost,  and  to  the  awe-struck  gaze  of  heaven's  blessed  in- 
habitants, that  God  is  sovereign  and  omnipotent;  that  he  is 
holy ;  that  he  is  true,  and  unchangeable,  and  just.  In  heaven, 
too,  the  law  will  reign  supreme,  forever.  No  longer  clothed  in 
the  form  of  extrinsic  precepts,  its  principle  will  shine  forth  in 
the  unveiled  glories  of  God ;  whom  we  now  see  through  its  glass 
darkly,  but  then  shall  see  face  to  face.  And  they  who  behold 
will  be  like  him,  because  they  shall  see  him  as  he  is.  Yet  the  law 
which  reigns  in  heaven,  though  the  same,  is  not  the  same. 
There,  as  God's  people,  so,  his  law,  is  transformed.  Its  un- 
changeable holiness  remains.  Its  faithful  exhibition  of  God's 
perfections  remains.  Nay,  it  there  consists  in  the  unveiling  of 
those  very  perfections, — the  unclouded  light  of  God's  own  face. 
But  it  rules  not,  there,  in  the  guise  of  a  master.  It  wields  not, 
there,  the  scourge  of  terror ;  nor  deals  in  the  notes  of  threatening. 
It  speaks  not  even  with  the  sternness  of  authority.  "We  are 
free  from  the  law,  by  the  body  of  Christ."  It  has  no  curse  to 
utter ;  no  scourge  to  wield.  Its  only  sanctions  are  the  smiles  of 
God.     Its  only  power  is  love. 

Thus  does  the  law  constitute  the  basis  and  medium  of  all  we 
know  or  can  know  of  God;  the  reason  and  cause  of  all  we  can 
suffer  in  hell,  and  the  spring  and  pledge  of  growing  knowledge  and 
blessedness  in  heaven.  Truly,  "  The  law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect, 
converting  the  soul ;  the  testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure,  making 
wise  the  simple;  the  statutes  of  the  Lord  are  right,  rejoicing 
the  heart ;  the  commandment  of  the  Lord  is  pure,  enlightening 
the  eyes ;  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is  clean,  enduring  forever ;  the 
judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous  altogether.  More 
to  be  desired  are  they  than  gold,  yea,  than  much  fine  gold; 
sweeter,  also,  than  honey,  and  the  honeycomb.  Moreover,  by 
them  is  thy  servant  warned ;  and  in  keeping  of  them  there  is 
great  reward." — Psalm  xix.  7-11. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   NATURE   OF   SIN. 

"  Sin  is  any  want  of  conformity  unto,  or  transgression  of,  tho 
law  of  God."*  Perhaps  no  more  signal  illustration  could  be 
§  1.  Sin  is  named  of  the  extent  of  man's  apostasy  from  God, 
unlawfulness,  than  occurs  in  the  superficial  and  false  conceptions 
which  are  prevalent  on  the  nature  and  evil  of  sin.  Nor  are 
these  false  opinions  confined  to  the  ignorant  and  the  thoughtless. 
"What  is  sin?"  says  Pelagius.  "  Is  it  a  substance  at  all?  or  a 
name  to  which  there  is  no  substance,  and  by  which  is  expressed, 
not  a  thing,  not  an  existence  or  bodily  substance,  but  the  perform- 
ance of  a  bad  act?  I  believe  this  is  the  case."f  "Sin,"  says 
a  disciple  of  the  same  theology,  "in  every  form  and  instance,  is 
reducible  to  the  act  of  a  moral  agent,  in  which  he  violates  a 
known  rule  of  duty.  "J 

There  are  a  number  of  words  used  in  the  Scriptures,  to  sig- 
nify sin.  Thus,  nxtsn,  a  missing  the  mark;  p;',  a  turning  out 
of  the  way;  Wp,  a  passing  over  the  line;  '^d,  rebellion;  7j£D,  a 
turning  aside.  In  the  New  Testament,  kpapxla,  a  missing  the 
mark;  dvop'ta,  unlawfulness;  Tzapdftaoii;,  a  passing  over  the  line; 
Tzapaxorj,  disobedience;  "apdrzzcopa,  a  stumbling  or  falling  out 
of  the  path.  In  all  cases,  the  words  point  to  a  standard  of  recti- 
tude, from  which  departure  takes  place.  In  respect  to  those 
things  to  which  the  name  of  sin  is  applied,  the  following  points 
are  clearly  taught  in  the  Scriptures. 

1.  There  cannot  be  sin  where  there  is  no  moral  law,  no  prin- 
ciple of  moral  obligation.  This  is  distinctly  asserted  by  Paul : — 
"Where  no  law  is,  there  is  no  transgression." — Rom.  iv.  15. 

*  Shorter  Catechism,  Qu.  14. 

f  Wiggers'  Augustinisni  and  Pelagianism,  Andover,  p.  132. 
J  Fitch's  Discourses  on  the  Nature  of  Sin.     New  Haven,  1826,  p.  4. 

243 


244  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  vii. 

"  Sin  is  not  imputed  where  there  is  no  law." — Rom.  v.  13.  "By 
the  law  is  the  knowledge  of  sin." — P^om.  iii.  20.  The  same 
principle  is  implied  in  the  scriptures  which  are  cited  under  the 
following  heads,  and  will  not  be  questioned. 

2.  Wherever  there  is  moral  law, — wherever  creature  is  held 
under  bonds  of  moral  obligation  to  God, — in  whatever  form  the 
law  is  enacted  and  put  forth, — any  failure  of  perfect  conformity 
to  it,  is  sin;  whether  the  defect  be  in  the  form  of  transgression 
of  the  prohibitions;  or  in  failure  of  perfect  conformity  to  the 
requirements.  "Whosoever  committeth  sin,  transgresseth  also 
the  law:  for  sin  is  transgression  of  the  law."  Literally, 
"Whosoever  sins,  commits  unlawfulness;  for  sin  is  unlawful- 
ness."— 1  John  iii.  4.  "All  unrighteousness  (ddrxia,  deflection 
from  the  rule)  is  sin." — 1  John  v.  17.  Not  only  does  this  apply 
to  active  violations  of  the  precept;  but  to  any  coming  short  of 
its  requirements.  This  is  not  only  involved  in  the  preceding 
scriptures,  but  is  further  asserted  in  many  places.  Thus,  says 
James,  "To  him  that  knoweth  to  do  good  and  doeth  it  not,  to 
him  it  is  sin." — James  iv.  17.  And  Paul  declares,  that  "whatso- 
ever is  not  of  faith  is  sin." — Eom.  xiv.  23. 

3.  Not  only  is  the  name,  sin,  applied  to  actions,  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, but  it  is  also  used  as  the  designation  of  an  efficient  prin- 
ciple in  the  soul,  which  is  the  cause  of  deeds  of  transgression. 
Says  Paul  to  the  Romans,  "Let  not  sin  reign  in  your  mortal 
body,  that  ye  should  obey  it  in  the  lusts  thereof." — Rom.  vi.  12. 
This  conception  of  sin  runs  through  the  whole  of  the  discussion 
contained  in  the  sixth  and  seventh  chapters  of  that  epistle;  to 
the  exegesis  of  which  special  attention  will  be  given  in  another 
place. 

In  order  to  an  intelligent  application  of  the  general  principles 
here  stated,  it  is  requisite  to  notice  two  or  three  of  those  fea- 
\  2.  Pheno-  tures  of  God's  likeness,  in  which  the  moral  intel- 
mena  of  moral  ligences  were  clothed.  The  first  of  these,  is  the 
fact  that  they  are,  to  each  other,  inscrutable;  as 
respects  any  direct  or  immediate  discovery  or  perception  of  the 
moral  nature,  its  attributes  and  attitude.  Hence,  the  inquiry  of 
Paul,  "What  man    knoweth  the  things   of    a  man,  save  the 


sect,  i.]  The  Nature  of  Sin.  245 

spirit  of  man,  which  is  in  him?  Even  so,  the  things  of  God 
knoweth  no  man,  but  the  Spirit  of  God." — 1  Cor.  ii.  11.  It  is 
only  mediately  that  one  created  intelligence  can  come  to  any 
knowledge  of  the  moral  posture  and  the  essential  attributes  of 
another. 

Another  point  to  be  noticed,  is  the  relation  of  resemblance 
which  the  nature  of  moral  agents  bears  to  the  essential  perfec- 
tion of  God.  That  perfection  consists  in  the  holiness  which  is 
eternal  in  him,  independent  of,  and  prior  to,  the  first  act  of 
creation.  After  that  likeness,  the  moral  intelligences  were 
created;  with  attributes  and  powers,  not  only  resembling  God, 
in  numerical  order  and  functions,  but  placed  in  attitudes  of 
moral  correspondence  and  harmony  with  those  of  God.  Herein 
is  the  essential  and  fundamental  likeness  of  God,  in  which  they 
were  clothed.  And  herein  is  the  basis  of  a  moral  character; 
of  which,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  their  actions  are  the  faithful 
indices;  but  which  is  altogether  independent  of  action,  antece- 
dent to  it,  and  the  cause  of  its  moral  character. 

Of  the  fact,  that  the  moral  intelligences  are  thus  constituted, 
the  evidence  is  demonstrative.  We  have  elsewhere  seen,  that 
the  attributes  of  man's  nature  sustain  specific  and  definable 
relations,  to  external  nature,  to  his  fellows,  and  to  God.  Of 
them,  not  only  is  action  predicable;  but  affinity  or  attitude  also. 
They  may,  they  do,  occupy  attitudes  so  determinate, — they  have 
affinities  so  precise, — that,  in  consequence,  their  first  active 
impulses  will  infallibly  and  necessarily  be  in  a  given  direction, 
and  in  no  other.  Thus,  Adam,  when  created,  before  the  first 
exertion  of  the  powers  of  his  nature,  was,  by  his  Maker,  so  con- 
stituted, that  all  his  powers  should  spontaneously  move,  in  con- 
formity with  God's  law  of  holiness.  The  character  of  his  first 
acts  was  in  no  sense  contingent;  but  determined  by  the  attitude 
in  which  his  Maker  arrayed  the  powers  of  his  soul, — the  affini- 
ties which  he  enstamped  upon  it.  This  is  what  is  intimated, 
when  the  Holy  Spirit  says,  that  "God  made  man  upright."  On 
the  contrary,  equally  certain  are  the  first  actings  of  each  soul, 
now  born  into  the  world,  to  be  in  antagonism  to  God,  and  trans- 
gression of  his  law; — and  this,  for  the  like  reason, — that,  in 


246  The  Eloltlm  Revealed.  [chap.  vii. 

consequence  of  the  fall,  the  attitude  of  the  powers  of  the  soul  is 
changed.  They  are  directed  away  from  God,  instead  of  being 
concentrated  upon  him.  The  positions  thus  stated  are  so  nearly 
self-evident,  as  scarcely  to  admit  of  argument.  It  is  universally 
and  intuitively  felt,  that  there  is  something  back  of  the  very 
first  active  impulse  of  the  soul;  which  determines  the  character 
and  direction  of  that  impulse.  No  one  supposes,  for  example, 
that  the  past  parsimonious  acts  of  the  miser  constitute  the 
cause  of  the  fact  that  he  will  be  a  miser  still.  Those  are  the 
mere  proofs,  which  testify  that  his  nature  is  such,  that  he  will 
act  in  a  given  way.  No  one  doubts  for  one  moment,  when  a 
child  is  born,  whether  it  will  be  of  itself  disposed  to  evil.  All 
feel  that  there  is,  from  the  first,  something  in  its  nature,  which 
determines  the  question,  prior  to  any  experiment.  Further,  it 
is  no  numerical  change  in  man's  powers,  which  makes  the  differ- 
ence between  Adam,  whose  nature  was  holy,  and  his  children, 
who  are  by  nature  unholy.  The  fall  did  not  reduce  the  number 
of  the  powers  of  man's  nature,  nor  change  their  order  in  respect 
to  each  other.  Nor  does  regeneration  increase  them,  nor  mo- 
dify that  order.  But,  in  the  one  case,  the  process  was  a  trans- 
formation of  the  affinities  of  the  nature, — an  apostasy  of%  the 
soul, — a  turning  away,  en  masse,  of  the  whole  body  of  powers 
from  God.  And,  in  regeneration,  there  is  a  restoration  of  those 
powers  to  their  original  position, — a  turning  of  them  back,  and 
direction  of  them  again  to  God,  as  the  true  centre  of  their 
attraction. 

The  phrase,  "turning  away,"  or  apostasy,  is  that  which 
the  Scriptures  habitually  use,  to  express  the  perversity  of 
man,  and  his  spontaneous  attitude  of  enmity  toward  God; 
and  the  resumption  of  a  right  position,  is  expressed  in  corre- 
sponding terms.  "Turn  ye,  turn  ye,  for  why  will  ye  die?" — 
Ezek.  xxxiii.  11.  "Keturn  unto  me,  and  I  will  return  unto  you, 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts." — Mai.  iii.  7.  "Ye  turned  to  God  from 
idols,  to  serve  the  living  and  true  God." — 1  Thess.  i.  9.  What 
is  the  precise  and  intimate  nature  of  that  characteristic  of  the 
human  soul,  upon  which  the  forms  of  expression  thus  employed 
are  dependent,  we  do  not  know.     Experience  and  Scripture  con- 


sect,  ii.]  The  Nature  of  Sin.  247 

cur,  however,  in  testifying  that  it  is  such  as  to  determine,  infal- 
libly, the  direction  in  which  the  active  powers  of  the  soul  will 
spontaneously  move.  The  engine,  which  rushes  impetuously 
along  the  track,  will  move  with  equal  certainty  and  power  in 
the  opposite  direction,  if  its  attitude  be  reversed ;  although  the 
motive  power  and  the  relative  position  of  the  parts  of  the  ma- 
chinery, as  toward  each  other,  are  precisely  the  same.  So  much 
we  know,  in  respect  to  the  soul ; — that,  as  created,  all  its  actions 
flowed  in  spontaneous  harmony  and  affinity  with  the  law  and 
nature  of  God;  whilst,  as  fallen,  they,  as  certainly  and  power- 
fully, turn  away.  Further,  we  have  the  unambiguous  and 
unequivocal  testimony  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  that  the  soul  is  the 
responsible  cause  of  the  transgression  and  sin,  thus  arising. 
Thus,  Jesus  says  to  the  Pharisees,  "0  generation  of  vipers! 
how  can  ye,  being  evil,  speak  good  things?  For  out  of  the 
abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh.  A  good  man  out 
of  the  good  treasure  of  the  heart  bringeth  forth  good  things ; 
and  an  evil  man  out  of  the  evil  treasure  bringeth  forth  evil 
things." — Matt.  xii.  34,  35.  And  again,  "Out  of  the  heart 
proceed  evil  thoughts,  murders,  adulteries,  fornications,  thefts, 
false  witness,  blasphemies;  these  are  the  things  which  defile  a 
man." — Matt.  xv.  19,  20.  Says  James,  "Every  man  is  tempted, 
when  he  is  drawn  away  of  his  own  lust,  and  enticed.  Then  when 
lust  hath  conceived,  bringeth  forth  sin." — James  i.  14,  15. 

The  next  point,  here  to  be  noticed,  is  the  fact,  that  the  moral 
natures  of  the  creatures,  thus  determinate  in  their  attitude, 
were  endowed  with  a  causative  power,  from  which  result  effects 
correspondent  to  the  cause.  This  has,  in  fact,  been  assumed, 
and  illustrated  sufficiently,  in  what  has  just  been  said.  It  is 
only  now  named,  as  entitled  to  distinct  and  emphatic  recogni- 
tion ;  and  for  the  purpose  of  pointing  out  the  principle,  in  ac- 
cordance with  which  the  causation  of  moral  natures  operates. 
That  principle  is, — that,  as  is  the  cause,  such  must  be  the  effects ; 
and  hence,  from  the  character  of  the  effects,  may  the  nature  of 
the  cause  be  infallibly  learned.  It  is  by  means  of  this  prin- 
ciple that  God  has  seen  good  to  reveal  himself,  in  his  works ;  all 
of  which,  in  their  perfection,  testify  to  the  perfection  of  their 


248  The  Ehhim  Revealed.  [chap.  vii. 

author.  As  he  has  filled  the  universe  with  motion,  giving  to  all 
the  creatures  forces,  that  constitute  them  the  causes  of  ever 
varying  phenomena,  which  shed  forth  and  proclaim  the  ceaseless 
activity  and  beneficence  of  the  unwearied  Creator;  so  has  he,  in 
an  especial  manner,  endowed  man's  moral  nature  with  that  cau- 
sative force,  which  impels  him  to  actions,  bearing  the  moral  im- 
press of  his  nature.  Thus,  the  intelligent  creatures  come  to  a 
mutual  knowledge  of  themselves,  by  means  of  their  actions; 
through  which  they  recognise,  in  each  other,  images  of  the 
Creator's  activity,  and  likenesses  of  his  moral  attributes, — mir- 
rors designed  to  reflect  his  spotless  holiness.  In  fact,  the  dis- 
tinctive office  of  action  is  revelation, — the  making  known  of  the 
agent.  Thus,  God  is  discovered  to  the  creatures,  by  the  works 
of  his  hand ;  and  they,  to  each  other,  by  their  actions,  severally. 
Hence,  all  effects  are  traceable,  at  last,  to  the  intelligent  effi- 
ciency of  moral  agents ;  and  the  moral  character  of  any  given 
act  is  that  of  the  moral  agent,  from  whom  it  proceeds.  It  is  in 
view  of  this  characteristic  of  human  nature,  that  our  Saviour 
lays  down  the  canon  of  judgment,  by  which  the  church  is  to  try 
those  that  come  to  her  as  teachers : — "  Beware  of  false  prophets, 
which  come  to  you  in  sheep's  clothing,  but  inwardly  they  are 
ravening  wolves.  Ye  shall  know  them  by  their  fruits.  Do  men 
gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles  ?  Even  so  every  good 
tree  bringeth  forth  good  fruit;  but  a  corrupt  tree  bringeth  forth 
evil  fruit.     A  good  tree  cannot  bring  forth  evil  fruit,  neither  can 

a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit Wherefore  by  their 

fruits  ye  shall  know  them." — Matt.  vii.  15-20. 

Herein  is  the  importance  which  attaches  to  human  actions; — 
not  that  there  is  in  them  any  intrinsic  value;  but,  as  they  are 
indices  to  the  character  of  men's  nature,  and  the  attitude  of 
their  souls.  They  are  the  means  through  which,  in  sustained 
allegiance,  the  creatures  shed  upon  each  other  their  Maker's 
image,  and  attest  his  glory.  And  they  constitute  the  evidence 
to  each  other  as  to  the  question, — whether  they  are  faithful  to 
the  office  with  which  they  are  honoured, — whether  their  nature 
continues  true  to  the  allegiance  of  Him  with  whose  likeness 
they  are  endowed,  and  with  whose  honour  they  are  intrusted. 


sect,  il]  The  Nature  of  Sin.  249 

In  connection  with  such  an  endowment,  the  creatures  on  whom 
it  was  bestowed  were  bound,  under  an  obligation  proportionably 
1 3.  Moral  strong, — that  is  to  say,  of  infinite  authority, — to 
obligation.  fulfil  the  office  thus  assigned  them,  and  honour  and 
serve  Him  by  whom  they  were  created  such.  That  obligation 
is  engraven  in  the  nature,  and  attested  by  conscience.  Such  an 
obligation,  being  moral,  and  addressing  the  moral  nature,  im- 
plies the  original  investiture  of  the  nature  with  a  freedom,  im- 
plying power  to  continue  in  the  attitude  of  harmony  with  the 
divine  nature ;  or,  to  turn  away,  and  assume  an  attitude  of  an- 
tagonism to  God.  From  all  this,  it  inevitably  follows,  that  all 
the  responsibilities  and  obligations,  which  can,  in  any  conceivable 
way,  attach  to  a  person,  must  have  their  ground  in  the  nature, 
and  attach  themselves  essentially  to  it.  Since,  in  general,  every 
kind  of  obligation  implies  the  exercise  of  some  kind  of  efficiency, 
and  since  the  moral  nature  is  the  only  principle  of  moral  effi- 
ciency, in  a  person,  it  follows,  that  all  moral  obligations  must 
lay  hold  of  the  nature;  else  are  they  altogether  nugatory  and 
void.  Furthermore,  we  have  seen  the  ultimate  principle  of  all 
moral  obligation  to  be,  conformity  to  God.  We  have  seen  man's 
moral  nature  to  have  been  formed  for  the  express  purpose  of 
being  God's  likeness;  especially,  in  his  moral  attributes, — in 
knowledge,  righteousness  and  holiness.  Since,  therefore,  it  is 
evident  that  nothing  which  is  extrinsic  or  formal  can  be  in  the 
moral  likeness  of  that  holy  and  incomprehensible  Spirit,  it  fol- 
lows, that  all  obligation — as  it  implies  a  requirement  to  conform 
to  the  moral  likeness  of  God — must  address  that,  from  which 
only  the  features  of  that  likeness  can  flow, — the  nature  of  the 
agent.  The  same  conclusion  results  from  yet  another  line  of 
thought.  The  attributes,  by  which  a  moral  agent  is  capable  of 
recognising,  appreciating  and  fulfilling  the  obligations  which  are 
addressed  to  him,  are  reason,  conscience  and  the  will.  But  these, 
although  existent  in  the  spiritual  substance  of  the  moral  agent, 
are  not  parts  of  it,  but  characteristics  of  the  nature,  which  dwells 
in  the  substance.  Hence,  as  the  claims  of  the  Creator  not  only 
appeal  to  the  nature,  but  are  cognizable  by  it  alone,  it  is  mani- 
fest that  upon  it  their  obligations  rest. 


250  The  Elohlm  Revealed.  [chap.  vii. 

Whilst,  thus,  all  moral  obligations  arise  out  of  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  nature,  and  lay  hold,  essentially,  upon  it,  the  subject 
against  which  they  are  enforced,  is  the  person  in  which  the 
nature  subsists;  and  this  for  evident  reasons.  It  is  only  in  the 
form  of  a  person  that  a  moral  nature  can  subsist.  All  that  is 
proper  to  the  person,  or  in  any  way  characteristic  of  it  as  such, 
grows  out  of  the  nature,  and  is  designed  and  constructed  as  a 
means  for  the  activity  of  the  nature ;  so  that  the  person  is  but 
the  nature  embodied  in  a  form  adapted  to  its  efficient  action. 
It  is  the  organization  through  which  the  nature  may  meet  its 
responsibilities,  by  performing  the  duties  demanded  of  it.  Since, 
therefore,  the  nature  can  neither  exist,  nor,  therefore,  be  respon- 
sible, neither  recognise  nor  satisfy  its  responsibilities,  but  as  it 
is  embodied  in  a  person;  and  since  to  it,  as  thus  embodied,  the 
obligations  which  rest  upon  it,  are  for  this  reason  by  God  ad- 
dressed, it  follows  that  persons  are  the  immediate  and  only  sub- 
jects of  moral  law  and  responsibility.  The  nature  comprehends 
all  the  forces  which  are  proper  to  the  person  in  which  it  subsists. 
Among  these  are  not  only  included  those  of  which  obligation 
or  obedience  may  be  supposed,  but  those  susceptibilities  upon 
which  may  be  predicated  the  realization  of  suffering,  the  en- 
durance of  punishment.  There  is,  therefore,  nothing  in  the 
person  of  which  exemption  can  be  imagined,  as  apart  from  the 
nature.  Were  it  possible  to  take  away  the  nature  and  yet  the 
person  remain ; — were  it  possible  to  suppose  any  other  forces 
proper  to  the  person  than  all  its  proper  forces, — then  would  there 
be  room  for  the  conception,  that  the  person  might  be  irresponsible 
for  the  nature  and  have  a  responsibility  distinct  from  it.  But  so 
long  as  it  is  true,  that  the  moral  nature  is  that  which  makes  the 
person  what  it  is  in  all  moral  respects ;  and  that  the  only  exist- 
ence of  the  nature  is  in  the  person ;  it  will  follow,  that  the  attempt 
to  separate  the  obligations  of  the  nature  and  of  the  person  is  ab- 
surd and  preposterous.  The  person  is  bound  under  the  responsibi- 
lities which  attach  to  the  nature  as  subsisting  therein ;  and  can 
be  held  to  no  others  than  such  as  arise  thence.  The  form  of  the 
obligation  is,  indeed,  modified  by  the  accidents  of  the  person; 
but  such  accidental  forms  are  always  capable  of  resolution  into 


sect,  in.]  The  Nature  of  Sin.  251 

general  principles,  which,  attach  essentially  to  the  nature.  Every 
accidental  form,  which,  in  the  varying  circumstances  of  life,  our 
duties  assume,  is  capable  of  being  reduced  to  the  one  principle  of 
love, — to  the  one  duty  of  conformity  with  the  likeness  of  Him  of 
whom  it  is  testified,  that  God  is  love ;  and  unless  the  given  duty 
be  performed  through  the  activity  of  a  principle  of  love,  spring- 
ing in  the  nature,  and  thence  breathing  through  the  soul,  it  is 
not  performed  at  all. 

In  view  of  the  nature  of  man  as  here  presented,  of  the  office  to 
which  he  was  ordained,  and  the  responsibilities  under  which  he 
z  4  The  law  was  held;  the  law  utters  its  precepts  and  makes  all 
addresses  the  its  provisions.  Its  office,  as  we  have  already  shown, 
nature.  ^s  twofold.     It  is  in  and  of  itself  a  revelation  of 

God's  moral  nature,  and  it  is  a  touchstone  by  the  aid  of  which 
the  intelligent  creatures  may  know  themselves  and  each  other, 
as  compared  with  God.  Hence,  the  terms  in  which  the  precepts 
of  the  written  law  are  framed,  have  respect  mainly  to  actual 
exercises  of  the  powers  and  affections.  These  are  within  the 
cognizance  of  the  creatures ;  whilst  the  attitude  of  the  nature  is 
beyond  their  immediate  scrutiny.  These  only,  therefore,  can 
they  compare  with  the  rule ;  and  hence,  with  these  chiefly  are 
the  provisions  of  the  law  conversant. 

And  yet,  neither  the  design  of  the  law,  nor  the  language  in 
which  it  is  framed,  will  admit  of  restriction  to  the  mere  actions 
of  men.  The  former  we  have  seen  to  be  a  revelation  of  the 
essential  nature  of  God,  by  the  definitions  contained  in  the  law, 
and  by  the  likeness  to  him  which  it  discovers  in  the  creatures. 
Since  the  moral  nature  of  man  was  designed  to  be  an  image  of  the 
essential  nature  of  God,  no  less  than  were  his  actions  to  illustrate 
and  shadow  forth  the  activity  of  God,  it  follows,  of  necessity,  that 
the  only  position  which  man's  nature  can  innocently  and  right- 
fully occupy,  is  that  of  perfect  conformity  of  attitude  and  actions 
to  the  office  thus  assigned  and  the  end  thu*  ,_iad  in  view.  And, 
since  the  law  is  holy,  being  a  transcript  of  the  nature  of  the  Holy 
One,  and  designed  to  assert  the  obligation  of  conformity  to  his 
nature  and  will,  it  cannot  fail  to  enforce  the  obligation  thus 
manifest  on  the  very  nature  and  substance  of  the  soul  of  man. 


252  The  Eloltim  Revealed.  [chap.  vii. 

Its  demand  cannot  be  less  than  that  the  nature  be  conformed  to 
God's  nature,  as  well  as  the  actions  to  his  working  and  his  will. 

The  same  conclusion  results  from  the  causative  relation  which 
we  have  seen  to  exist  between  the  nature  and  actions.  It  would 
be  preposterous,  to  enter  into  argument,  to  prove,  that,  when  a 
murder  is  committed,  the  crime  attaches  neither  to  the  wound 
nor  the  weapon;  but  to  him  who  wielded  the  one  and  caused 
the  other.  So,  here,  when  an  act  of  sin  occurs,  the  crime 
attaches  essentially,  neither  to  the  act,  nor  the  volition  whence 
the  act  proceeded ;  but  to  the  soul,  the  cause  of  both, — the  soul, 
whose  perverted  powers  produced  the  deed.  In  fact,  every  law, 
whether  human  or  divine,  recognises  this  principle.  They  all 
address  the  soul  itself, — the  fountain  of  actions.  If  any  control 
at  all  is  attempted,  it  must  operate  here.  If  crime  is  prevented, 
it  must  be  by  controlling  the  cause, — the  nature  which  generates 
the  crime.  Any  other  course  would  be  the  folly  of  him  who 
should  attempt,  with  the  weight  of  a  feather,  to  stay  the  pon- 
derous wheel,  which  moves  in  obedience  to  the  power  put  forth 
by  the  mighty  engine;  instead  of  plying  the  lever,  which, 
located  at  the  seat  of  power,  controls  its  direction.  The  efficient 
cause  of  moral  action  is  the  proper  subject  of  moral  law.  This 
is  assumed,  in  all  the  divine  administration;  in  which,  the 
sanctions  of  the  law  always  attach  to  the  soul  of  the  agent.  It 
is  a  principle  of  all  law,  that,  if  there  is  guilt,  the  corpus  delicti, 
the  crime,  is  to  be  sought,  not  in  the  act,  as  such,  but  in  the 
animus  of  the  actor.  Men  never  fail  to  realize  this,  in  the 
common  transactions  of  life,  and  decisions  of  human  jurispru- 
dence. It  is  only  in  the  perversity  of  unscriptural  theology, 
that  we  find  the  absurdity  of  separating  the  moral  character 
from  the  substance  of  the  soul,  and  tying  it  to  the  vanishing 
deeds  of  life. 

The  idea  that  responsibility  and  sin  are  predicable  of  actions 
merely,  is  only  conc'-ient  with  an  utter  denial  that  man's  nature 
as  such  owes  aiv  thing  to  God ;  or  has  an  office  to  perform  of 
showing  forth  his  glory.  It  implies,  that  the  reason  of  the  law 
of  God,  and  of  the  moral  obligations,  which  rest  on  the  creatures, 
consists  in  some  necessity  of  the  divine  nature,  to  which  our 


sect,  iv.]  The  Nature  of  Sin.  253 

active  services  are,  of  themselves,  important, — that,  provided 
our  actions  maintain  an  aspect  of  conformity  to  the  rule,  our 
hearts  are  our  own.  It  ignores  the  fact,  that  actions  are  mere 
empty  phenomena,  which  can  in  themselves  have  no  possible 
value ;  and  which,  even  to  the  purposes  of  revelation,  convey  to 
God  nothing  new,  and  merely  serve  to  make  known,  to  each 
other  and  to  themselves,  that  state  of  men's  nature,  and  attitude 
of  their  souls,  which  is  already  and  immediately  known  fully  to 
God.  It  is  to  the  soul,  that  moral  responsibility  attaches,  and 
of  which,  in  the  Scriptures,  moral  good  and  evil  are  predicated, 
even  prior  to  and  irrespective  of  any  external  exercise  of  its 
powers.  It  is  to  the  very  substance  of  the  soul,  that  the  law 
is  addressed;  and  upon  it  the  penal  sanctions  of  that  law  are 
enforced.  The  soul  is  that,  which,  in  its  substance  and  powers, 
intrinsically,  as  much  as  in  their  exercises,  was  created  and  or- 
dained to  be  the  image  and  glory  of  God.  Conformity  of  this 
substance  to  this  its  exalted  office  is  holiness;  the  reverse  is  sin. 

The  conclusion  thus  gained  corresponds  precisely  with  what 
has  been  already  shown,  as  to  the  comprehensiveness  of  the 
authority  of  the  law  itself,  asserting  a  jurisdiction,  which  is 
described  in  a  laborious  accumulation  of  terms,  as  comprehending 
the  entire  being, — all  the  heart,  soul,  mind  and  strength, — the 
body  and  the  spirit,  which  are  God's.  Whilst  the  law  thus 
searches  out  the  springs  of  man's  actions,  and  penetrates  to  the 
cause  of  their  moral  character,  its  precept  is  correspondent  to 
the  object  to  which  it  is  addressed.  When  it  says,  "Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy 
soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy  strength," — Mark 
xii.  30, — the  injunction  lays  upon  the  soul,  which  is  thus  in  its 
"all"  demanded,  a  requisition  that  every  power  shall  maintain 
an  attitude  correspondent  with,  and  productive  of,  perpetual  and 
perfect  love  and  obedience.  A  failure  to  conform  to  this  most 
righteous  demand,  is  sin, — is  transgression  of  the  law;  and 
justly  involves  him  in  whom  it  occurs,  in  all  the  responsibilities 
of  sin, — God's  present  frown,  and  eternal  wrath. 

Thus,  then,  does  the  law  of  God  descend  to  the  fountains  of 
the  soul,— the  sources  of  all  the  phenomena  of  intellectual  and 


254  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  vii. 

moral  agency;  by  the  nature  of  which  those  phenomena  are  de- 
termined to  be  good  or  evil,  right  or  wrong.  The  substance  of 
the  soul  itself,  and  all  its  capacities,  were  created  by  God.  They 
all  belong  to  him;  and,  designed  to  show  his  glory,  are  bound  to 
do  so,  in  their  passive  attitude  as  well  as  in  their  active  state. 
The  precept  of  the  law  is  unambiguous: — "Be  holy,  for  I  the 
Lord  thy  God  am  holy."  The  requirement  is,  that  not  the  body 
only,  but  the  soul, — not  the  actions  only,  but  the  powers, — should 
be  devoted  to  God, — not  by  a  formal  effort  of  the  will  merely, 
but  by  the  spontaneity  of  the  whole  being.  He  is  the  centre 
around  whom  the  soul,  in  its  substance,  its  powers,  and  all  its 
exercises,  should  revolve,  freely,  spontaneously,  continually,  from 
the  first  dawning  of  existence,  forever.  His  law  demands  holi- 
ness,— a  word  which  does  not  express  any  form  of  mere  action, 
but  a  state  of  all  the  powers,  and  of  the  nature,  itself,  conformed 
to  God's  nature.  To  this  law  Christ  was  conformed,  from  his 
first  conception ;  and,  in  being  so,  illustrated  the  extent  of  the 
requirement  of  the  law,  which  says,  "Be  holy."  He  was,  in 
the  womb,  "that  holy  thing."  To  the  law,  thus  comprehensive 
in  its  demands,  thus  claiming  the  allegiance  of  the  soul  and  the 
nature,  as  well  as  the  actions  and  life,  want  of  conformity  is  sin. 
Here,  the  doctrine  of  Edwards,  on  the  moral  character  of 
actions,  presents  itself.  "  One  main  foundation  of  the  reasons 
§  5.  Edwards'  which  are  brought  to  establish  the  forementioned 
doctrine.  notions  of  liberty,  virtue,  vice,  &c,  is  a  supposition 

that  the  virtuousness  of  the  dispositions  or  acts  of  the  will,  consists 
not  in  the  nature  of  those  dispositions  or  acts,  but  wholly  in  the 
origin  or  cause  of  them ;  so  that  if  the  disposition  of  the  mind  or 
act  of  the  will  be  ever  so  good,  yet  if  the  cause  of  the  disposition 
or  act  be  not  our  virtue,  there  is  nothing  virtuous  or  praiseworthy 
in  it ;  and  on  the  contrary,  if  the  will  in  its  inclination  or  acts  be 
ever  so  bad,  yet  unless  it  arises  from  something  that  is  our  vice  or 
fault,  there  is  nothing  vicious  or  blameworthy  in  it.  .  .  .  Now,  if 
this  matter  be  well  considered,  it  will  appear  to  be  altogether  a 
mistake,  yea,  a  gross  absurdity."  "  Thus,  for  instance,  if  the 
vice  of  a  vicious  act  of  will  lies  not  in  the  nature  of  the  act, 
but  the  cause ;  so  that  its  being  of  a  bad  nature  will  not  make 


sect,  iv.]  T Ice  Nature  of  Sin.  255 

it  at  all  our  fault,  unless  it  arises  from  some  faulty  determination 
of  ours  as  its  cause,  or  something  in  us  that  is  our  fault ; — then, 
for  the  same  reason,  neither  can  the  viciousness  of  that  cause  lie 
in  the  nature  of  the  thing  itself,  but  in  its  cause ;  that  evil  deter- 
mination of  ours  is  not  our  fault,  merely  because  it  is  of  a  bad 
nature,  unless  it  arises  from  some  cause  in  us  that  is  our  fault;" 
and  so  on  ad  infinitum*  This  same  idea  runs  through  the  whole 
argument,  in  Edwards'  Treatise  on  Original  Sin,  Part  iv.  Chap, 
i., — "  Concerning  that  objection,  that  to  suppose  men's  being  born 
in  sin,  without  their  choice,  or  any  previous  act  of  their  own,  is 
to  suppose  what  is  inconsistent  with  the  nature  of  sin;"  in  which 
chapter  he  refers  his  readers,  for  further  light,  to  the  work  on 
the  Will,  from  which  we  here  quote. 

The  relation  of  this  assumption  to  Edwards'  doctrine  of  causa- 
tion, is  obvious.  If  the  creature  be  no  cause,  there  is  but  one 
alternative.  Either  all  acts,  as  caused  by  the  Holy  One,  are 
holy ;  or  else,  the  character  of  an  action  is  to  be  sought  some- 
where else  than  in  its  cause.  But  the  argument  is  a  fallacy, 
involving  the  latent  assumption,  that  acts  have  a  subsistence  and 
moral  agency  of  their  own,  apart  from  that  of  the  actor.  Strictly 
speaking,  acts  are  without  any  moral  character  in  themselves ; 
they  are  not  subjects  of  law,  responsible  to  justice.  An  act  is 
nothing  but  the  agent  acting ;  and  wdien,  in  common  language, 
we  speak  of  moral  attributes  attaching  to  actions,  and  predicate 
of  them  praise  or  blame,  we,  in  fact,  mean  to  attribute  these  to 
the  actor.  This  is  as  true  of  those  "  internal  exercises,"  of  which 
Edwards  here  speaks,  as  of  outward  actions.  The  reason,  there- 
fore, why  the  moral  character  of  an  act  is  to  be  sought,  not  in- 
trinsically in  it,  but  in  its  cause,  is  not  merely  that  it  is  an 
effect,  but,  that  it  is  an  effect  of  which  the  moral  nature  of  an 
accountable  agent  is  the  cause.  Moral  intelligences  alone  are 
responsible ;  and  that  by  virtue  of  the  causative  moral  nature 
which  they  possess.  And  the  nature,  as  thus  causative,  is 
responsible  for  the  effects  which  it  produces ;  whether  they  be 
developed  within,  or  extrinsic ; — whether  they  be  in  the  form 

*  Edwards  on  the  Will,  Part  iv.  sec.  1.     See  also  sec.  9. 


256  The  Mohim  Revealed.  [chap.  vii. 

of  apostasy  of  the  very  nature  itself;  or  of  dispositions  and  actions 
caused  by  the  apostate  condition  of  the  nature,  and  demonstrative 
of  it.  Hence,  the  reason  why  the  moral  character  of  actions  is 
not  to  be  sought  in  their  external  form,  but  in  their  cause. 

In  this  doctrine  of  Edwards,  and  in  the  whole  argument  by 
which  it  is  sustained,  we  find  very  distinct  intimations  of  the 
"  exercise  scheme,"  more  fully  developed  by  his  pupil,  Hopkins, 
that  all  sin  and  holiness  consist  in  exercises  or  actions.  In  it, 
too,  Emmons  found  the  argument  with  which  he  vindicates  the 
position  that  God  is  the  author  of  sin.  The  holiness  of  the 
cause  does  not  prevent  the  sinfulness  of  the  action,  since  the 
moral  character  of  the  latter  is  to  be  sought  in  its  formal 
aspect,  and  not  in  its  source.  God  may,  therefore,  be  the  cause 
of  men's  sins,  although  he  is  the  God  of  holiness. 

The  general  principles  thus  far  presented,  apply  in  common 
to  all  moral  intelligences.  In  order,  however,  to  the  solution  of 
I  6.  Sin  of  the  problem  of  man's  nature  and  the  responsibilities 
Nature,  under  which  he  lies,  it  is  necessary  to  take  into  the 

account  some  additional  facts  not  yet  mentioned.  In  the  angelic 
hosts  each  several  individual  is  possessed  of  a  several  nature, 
original  in  and  peculiar  to  him.  The  history  of  the  person  and 
of  the  nature  is  contemporaneous  and  the  same.  But  in  man  it 
is  different.  The  nature  of  the  entire  race  was  created  originally 
in  Adam,  and  is  propagated  from  him  by  generation,  and  so  descends 
to  all  his  seed.  Hence  arise  two  distinct  forms  of  responsibility : 
the  nature  being  placed  under  a  creative  obligation  of  con- 
formity to  the  holiness  of  God's  nature,  and  each  several  person 
being,  in  a  similar  manner,  held  under  obligation  of  personal 
conformity  of  affections,  thoughts,  words  and  actions,  to  the  holy 
requirements  of  God's  law.  The  apostasy  of  this  nature  was  the 
immediate  efficient  cause  in  Adam  of  the  act  of  disobedience,  the 
plucking  of  the  forbidden  fruit.  Thus  there  attached  to  him 
the  double  crime  of  apostasy  of  his  nature  and  of  personal  dis- 
obedience. The  guilt  thus  incurred,  attached,  not  only  to 
Adam's  person,  but  to  the  nature  which,  in  his  person,  caused 
the  act  of  transgression.  Thus,  as  the  nature  flows  to  all  the 
posterity  of  Adam,  it  comes  bearing  the  burden  of  that  initial 


sect,  v.]  Tlie  Nature  of  Sin.  257 

crime,  and  characterized  by  the  depravity  which  was  embraced 
therein.  In  both  respects  the  nature  is  at  variance  with  the 
law.  In  both  respects  it  is  guilty  of  sin, — the  sin  of  nature. 
In  addition  to  this,  Adam's  posterity  find  the  depravity  thus 
embraced  and  indwelling,  an  unfailing  and  active  cause  of  other 
sins.  The  apostate  nature  works  iniquity  wherever  it  is  found. 
Thus  originate  the  personal  sins  which  fill  the  world.  Such  is 
the  ground  upon  which  the  apostasy  of  man's  nature  from  holi- 
ness, and  its  embrace  of  depravity,  is  called  sin,  and,  as  such, 
charged  upon  the  race  of  man.  The  propriety  of  so  charging 
it  would  seem  to  be  unquestionable.  It  is  certain,  that  nothing 
may  be  predicated  of  the  person  which  does  not  grow  out  of  the 
nature.  And,  if  this  must  be  admitted,  there  appears  to  be  no 
ground  on  which  it  can  be  claimed  that  the  nature,  because 
existing  in  another  person,  is  entitled  to  exemption  from  its 
essential  guilt.  The  opposite  view  assumes  the  absurdity,  that 
there  may  be,  and  is,  that  in  the  person  which  has  a  subsistence 
and  moral  agency  of  its  own;  a  competence  to  responsibility,  and 
capacity  to  appreciate  and  experience  the  power  of  the  law's 
sanctions,  distinct  from,  and  independent  of,  the  nature.  Is 
it  said  to  be  unjust  to  hold  my  person  bound  for  an  act 
which  was  committed  in  the  person  of  another?  The  objection 
would  be  valid,  were  the  person  a  force  to  control  or  modify 
the  nature.  But,  since  the  contrary  is  the  case,  it  does  not 
appear  reasonable  that  exemption  should  be  claimed  on  that 
ground.  In  fact,  the  nature,  which  was  the  cause  of  my  person, 
was  there.  And,  as  every  power  or  principle  of  efficiency  which 
is  in  the  effect  must  have  been  in  its  cause,  it  follows,  inevitably, 
that  every  thing  in  me,  upon  which  resistance  to  the  apostasy 
might  be  imagined,  was  actually  there,  and,  so  far  from  opposing, 
took  part  in  the  treason.  We  "  sinned  in  Adam  and  fell  with 
him  in  his  first  transgression."  The  accident  of  my  personal 
existence,  had  it  then  been  realized,  would  have  added  no  new 
influences  to  those  which  were  actually  engaged,  and-  would  not 
have  modified  the  result,  nor  changed  the  responsibility  attach- 
ing to  it.  The  objection  here  considered,  strikes  at  the  root  of 
all  responsibility,  as  well  for  personal  as  for  native  sin.    If  I  am 

17 


258  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  vii. 

not  justly  responsible  for  Adam's  transgression,  because  only  my 
nature  was  efficient  in  it,  then  may  I,  with  equal  propriety, 
claim  exemption  in  respect  to  personal  sins,  since  in  them  my 
person  is  the  mere  subject  of  the  action,  and  my  nature  is  the 
sole  efficient  cause.  It  is  not,  however,  our  purpose  in  this 
place  to  discuss  the  doctrine  of  original  sin,  but  merely  to  show 
the  general  principles,  which  embrace  our  relation  to  Adam's 
apostasy,  under  the  category  of  sin. 

To  the  still  further  clearing  of  the  Scripture  doctrine  of  sin, 
two  other  points  are  to  be  noticed.  The  first  is,  that  the  law, 
as  we  have  formerly  seen,  is  as  old  as  that  nature  of  man,  which 
we  have  seen  to  be  bound  under  a  responsibility  as  old  as  the 
race.  The  law  was  written  on  that  nature,  when  created  in 
holiness,  in  the  person  of  Adam.  So  that  God's  justice,  in 
charging  native  depravity  as  sin,  does  not  hold  that  to  be  sin 
which  entered  before  the  law.  This  point  Paul  insists  upon,  in 
the  epistle  to  the  Romans.  Having  in  the  second  chapter  de- 
scribed the  Gentile  world,  as  amenable  to  the  law  written  on 
their  hearts;  he,  in  the  fifth,  justifies  the  accusation  of  sin,  which 
he  makes  against  the  race,  in  Adam,  upon  the  ground  of  the 
existence  of  that  law,  antedating  that  of  Moses.  Rom.  v.  13,  14 : 
— "For  until  the  law  (of  Moses)  sin  was  in  the  world;  but  sin 
is  not  imputed  when  there  is  no  law.  Nevertheless,  death 
reigned."  The  second  point  to  be  noticed  is,  that  although  sin 
has,  in  some  measure,  obscured  the  lines  in  which  the  law  is 
inscribed  on  the  heart,  yet  is  the  law  always  present,  and  acting 
with  an  energy,  and  appeal  to  the  consciousness,  precisely  pro- 
portioned to  the  exigency  of  the  case.  In  the  first  dawn  of 
infant  existence,  it  is  present;  and,  as  sin  is  there,  only  in  the 
form  of  latent  corruption,  so  is  the  law,  in  the  form  of  an  im- 
manent power  of  conscience,  God's  witness  within,  ready  to  for- 
-  bid  and  condemn  sin.  So,  as  the  growing  capacities  gradually 
develop  an  active  corruption, — a  living  hostility  to  holiness  and 
the  Holy  One, — does  the  law  within  'pari  passu  unfold  a  still 
more  and  more  active  testimony  on  their  behalf;  and,  probably, 
nothing  contributes,  so  constantly  and  so  powerfully,  to  deve- 
lop corruption  in  the  yet  unconscious  infant  heart,  as  the  pre- 


sect,  vi.]  The  Nature  of  Sin.  259 

sence  of  this  indwelling  law,  thus  continually  testifying  on  behalf 
of  that  to  which  the  nature  is  averse ;  and  from  which,  in  its 
apostasy,  the  whole  being  instinctively  revolts.  Without  the 
presence  of  the  law,  sin  is  dead.  But  the  coming  of  the  com- 
mandment continually  revives  it ;  and,  by  occasion  of  that  com- 
mandment, it  deceives  and  slays  the  soul. 

The  results  to  which  we  come,  in  the  present  inquiry,  may  be 
summed  in  the  following  propositions.  1.  As  to  its  formal  as- 
\  7.  Nature  pect,  sin  is  any  want  of  conformity  unto,  or  trans- 
and  evil  of  sin.  gression  of,  the  law  of  God.  It  is  dvo/Aa,  unlawful- 
ness. 2.  As  to  its  essential  nature,  it  is  moral  unlikeness  to 
God; — or,  rather,  the  reverse  of  his  likeness.  3.  Its  origin  is, 
in  every  instance,  traceable  to  the  criminal  apostasy  of  a  nature, 
made  in  God's  image,  and  clothed  with  freedom  to  continue  in 
that  likeness,  or  depart  from  it.  4.  As  to  its  habitual  form,  it 
is  a  depraved  principle,  in  the  nature;  hostile  to  all  good,  and 
prone  to  all  evil ;  enmity  to  God  and  his  law ;  and  delighting  in 
whatever  is  hateful  to  him.  5.  In  action,  it  is  transgression, 
actively  assailing,  alike,  the  authority  of  God,  and  the  rights 
of  fellow-creatures. 

The  following  pages  will  exhibit  some  of  the  aspects  which, 
in  the  history  of  man,  sin  has  assumed.  In  them,  we  shall  see 
abundant  confirmation  of  the  positions  here  taken. 

The  evil  of  sin  is  infinite.  It  is,  in  and  of  itself,  thus  evil, 
as  being  the  contradictory  of  the  infinite  excellence  which  is 
essential  in  God.  This  essential  evil  is  aggravated  by  the  rela- 
tion which  sin  sustains,  as  transgression  of  the  law.  Thus,  it 
robs  God,  by  a  perversion  of  the  creature  which  he  made,  from 
the  office  to  which  he  assigned  it;  to  wit,  the  exhibition,  in  the 
Creator's  presence,  of  an  image  of  his  own  essential  holiness; 
and  the  reflection  of  that  image  upon  the  other  creatures.  It  is 
atrocious  ingratitude ;  as  it  tramples  upon  the  honour  which  the 
Creator  has  conferred,  in  the  destination  of  the  creature  to  such 
an  office,  and  despises  the  happiness  which  he  has  bestowed; 
both  of  which  are  the  highest  to  which  creature  could  aspire,  or 
of  which  finite  being  could  conceive.  It  is  a  disparagement  of 
the  beauty  and  glory  of  the  divine  character;  the  likeness  of 


260  The  EloMm  Revealed.  [chap.  vii. 

which  is  by  it  rejected,  and  the  opposite  embraced.  In  one 
word,  sin  is  atheism.  It  denies  God's  infinite  excellence,  by 
refusing  conformity  to  it,  and  embracing  that  infinite  evil  which 
he  hates ;  disowns  his  sovereignty,  by  apostasy  from  the  attitude 
and  office  which  he  has  assigned;  and  repudiates  his  proprietary 
right  in  the  creation,  by  an  appropriation  of  self  and  the  crea- 
tures in  a  way  contrary  to  his  will  and  injurious  to  his  honour. 
It  assails  his  Godhead,  and  his  very  being,  by  assuming  an  atti- 
tude as  though  he  were  not  rightful  Lord,  nor  the  creation  his 
rightful  dominion ;  by  refusing  hirn  that  love  and  worship  which 
as  God  is  his  due,  and  withholding  that  service  and  obedience 
which  as  Creator  is  his  right;  by  seizing  upon  such  part  of  the 
creation  as  comes  within  reach,  and  appropriating  it,  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  Him  who  made  it,  and  in  whom  it  exists;  and  by  at- 
tempting to  sustain  an  independent  existence,  and  expecting 
happiness  despite  his  frown.  Such  is  the  essential  nature  of  sin, 
as  it  subsists  in  the  nature  of  the  soul,  and  in  the  attitude  of 
the  powers;  and  such  is  it  seen  by  the  intelligent  creatures;  as, 
seated  at  the  fountain  of  activity,  in  the  springs  of  the  being,  it 
stamps  its  atrocious  impress  upon  the  actions  which  flow  from 
the  causative  energies  of  the  moral  nature.  Thus,  to  witnessing 
intelligences,  and  to  man's  own  conscience,  is  detected  and  con- 
demned the  apostasy  within,  which  has  been  already  seen  and 
abhorred  by  the  Searcher  of  hearts,  and  condemned  by  the  in- 
fallible doom  of  his  holy  law  with  an  infinite  curse ; — condemned 
and  accursed,  while  yet  hidden  in  the  recesses  of  the  nature 
undeveloped  in  actings  of  sin,  and  undiscovered  by  blind  crea- 
ture vision. 


When  the  preceding  paragraph  was  written,  we  supposed  that 
no  one,  professing  to  look  to  a  divine  Redeemer,  or  to  adore  a 
I  8.  Barnes'  God  of  infinite  holiness,  would  question  the  infinite 
doctrine.  ev[\  0f  sin-     But,  in  a  recent  publication,  devoted 

to  a  discussion  of  the  doctrine  of  the  atonement,  the  author  says, 
"We  cannot  argue  that  because  sin  is  an  infinite  evil,  there- 
-fore  an  infinite  atonement  was  necessary,  or  that  it  was  neces- 
sary that  he  who  should  make  the  atonement  should  be  infinite 


sect,  vii.]  The  Nature  of  Sin.  261 

in  his  nature."  He  then  asks,  in  a  marginal  note,  "In  what 
sense  is  it  true  that  sin  is  infinite  ?  How  is  it  ascertained  that 
it  is  infinite?  In  what  part  of  the  Scriptures  is  it  asserted  or 
intimated  that  the  necessity  of  an  atonement  rests  on  the  fact 
that  sin  is  an  infinite  evil?  Where  is  it  affirmed  that  sin  has  in 
any  sense  a  character  of  infinity?"*  It  would  have  been  as 
reasonable  and  as  conclusive,  had  Mr.  B.  asked,  where  it  is 
affirmed  that  God  is  infinitely  holy.  Sin  not  an  infinite  evil ! 
It  is  not,  then,  an  infinitely  evil  thing,  for  a  creature  of  God  to 
act  in  contempt  of  the  expostulation  of  his  infinitely  good  and 
holy  Maker,  entreating  him,  "Oh,  do  not  this  abominable  thing 
that  I  hate!" — Jer.  xliv.  4.  Then  are  not  God's  perfections 
of  boundless  excellence,  nor  the  contempt  and  rejection  of  them 
an  act  infinitely  atrocious  and  vile.  God's  love  is  not  an  infi- 
nitely precious  thing,  its  loss  a  measureless  evil,  nor  his  hatred 
and  wrath  an  infinite  calamity.  That  is  not  an  infinite  evil, 
which  forfeits  eternal  life;  nor  that  which  at  the  infallible  tri- 
bunal of  God's  justice  will  "be  punished  with  everlasting  de- 
struction from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of 
his  power;" — 2  Thess.  i.  9; — for  which  God  has  treasured  up 
"indignation  and  wrath,  tribulation  and  anguish;" — for  which 
"the  smoke  of  torment  will  ascend  up  for  ever  and  ever."  Sin 
not  an  infinite  evil !  Then  may  Mr.  Barnes  provide  a  sounding- 
line  which  will  fathom  the  bottomless  pit, — a  flood  which  will 
quench  the  unquenchable  fire, — a  weapon  to  slay  the  undying 
worm.  Then  are  the  prdns  of  hell  not  intolerable;  and  the  woe 
of  perdition  not  infinitely  fearful !  Oh !  is  it  possible  that  any 
child  of  clay  can  look  upon  the  cross  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  question  the  infinite  evil  of  sin?  Mr.  Barnes'  system  is, 
indeed,  proof  against  this  appeal.  His  doctrine  is,  that  every 
thing  essential  in  Christ's  atoning  sacrifice,  was  the  humiliation 
and  corporeal  suffering  involved  in  a  violent  death.  After  show- 
ing, variously,  that  it  is  supposed  by  many,  and  was  so  by  the 
Hebrews,  that  the  life  is  in  the  blood,  he  says,  "  The  plain  doctrine 
of  the  New  Testament,  therefore  is,  that  the  blood  of  Christ — 

*  Barnes  on  the  Atonement,  p.  161. 


262  TJw  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  vii. 

that  is,  that  the  giving  of  his  life — was  the  means  of  making 
the  atonement,  or  securing  reconciliation  between  man  and  his 
Maker.  In  other  words,  his  life  was  regarded  as  a  sacrifice  in 
the  place  of  sinners,  by  means  of  which  the  penalty  of  the  law, 
which  man  had  incurred,  might  be  averted  from  him.  The 
voluntary  death  of  the  Eedeemer,  in  the  place  of  man,  had  such 
an  efficacy,  that  man,  on  account  of  that,  might  be  saved  from 
the  punishment  which  he  had  deserved,  and  treated  as  if  he  had 
not  sinned.  This  is  the  doctrine  of  the  atonement."*  Even  such 
merits  as  were  thus  acquired  by  the  Mediator,  are  adequate,  in 
Mr.  Barnes'  estimation,  to  the  salvation  of  all  the  redeemed,  besides 
admitting  a  large  allowance  for  "waste;"  since  he  supposes  that 
many  will  perish  for  whom  Christ  died.  That  such  a  waste 
should  take  place,  he  thinks  the  analogies  of  nature  would  lead 
us  to  expect  !f 

*  Barnes  on  the  Atonement,  p.  302.  f  Ibid.  p.  327. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

DEATH    THE    PENALTY    OF    THE    LAW. 

The  laws  designed  for  the  government  of  the  lower  creation, 
being  enstamped  on  the  very  substance  of  the  material  elements, 
1 1.  Sanctions  and  incorporated  in  the  organic  structure  of  the 
necessary.  creatures,  possessed  a  self-enforcing  efficiency, — the 
communicated  power  of  the  Creator  himself;  so  that  they  needed 
no  other  sanction  to  maintain  their  authority.  But  man  was 
endowed  with  an  intellect  to  apprehend  the  nature  of  the  relation 
between  him  and  his  Creator,  and  to  perceive  the  propriety  and 
justice  of  the  authority  which  God  asserted  over  him;  and  a 
liberty  of  will,  qualifying  him  for  rendering  a  spontaneous  and 
reasonable  service,  infinitely  more  honourable  to  man,  and  more 
suited  to  glorify  God,  than  the  necessary  subordination  of  the 
lower  creation.  A  law  which  addresses  itself  to  such  intelligence 
and  freedom,  requires  sanctions  which  may  appeal  to  the  same 
attributes.  Those  which  God  affixed  to  his  law,  as  revealed  to 
Adam,  were  two: — eternal  life,  the  reward  of  obedience;  and 
death,  the  punishment  of  transgression.  The  promise  of  eternal 
life,  which  accompanied  the  law  to  Adam,  constituted  the  prin- 
cipal element  in  a  gracious  covenant,  of  which  we  shall  speak 
hereafter.     Our  present  business  is  with  the  penalty. 

We  have  already  seen,  that  the  design  of  the  law  is  the  reve- 
lation of  the  nature  of  God;  and  its  authority  founded  in  the 
proprietary  relation  subsisting  between  him  and  his  creatures ; 
and  that  the  practical  form  which  the  precept  assumes,  depends 
on  the  nature  and  condition  of  the  creature,  as  angelic  or  human, 
innocent,  fallen,  reprobate,  or  redeemed.  Analogous  to  this  is 
the  constitution  of  the  penalty.  A  creature  is  admitted  to  com- 
munion with  God,  and  dignified  by  the  reception  of  a  law  ad- 

263 


264  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  viii. 

dressed  to  liis  understanding,  and  committed  to  the  charge  of  his 
unbiassed  will; — a  law,  in  which  he  learns  the  great  and  en- 
nobling end  of  his  being;  the  accomplishment  of  which  is  thus 
intrusted  to  his  own  free  co-operation  with  God.  If  such  a  trust 
be  betrayed  by  disobedience,  the  transgressor  must,  thereby,  of 
necessity,  come  under  his  Creator's  frown,  and  experience  his 
curse.  His  crime  has  in  it,  not  only  the  elements  of  all  moral 
evil,  as  it  alienates  his  Creator's  property,  repudiates  the  like- 
ness of  his  glorious  holiness,  and  contemns  his  condescension  and 
favour;  but  it  is  also  an  assault  upon  the  sovereignty  of  the 
Lawgiver,  as  set  forth  in  the  law.  Hence,  not  only  may  the 
transgressor  expect  to  be  left  to  the  evils  which  naturally  grow 
out  of  the  sin  which  he  has  embraced;  but,  to  realize  the  power 
of  his  offended  Sovereign,  arrayed  against  him,  in  the  infliction 
of  a  punishment  adequate  to  his  crime.  Further,  the  form  in 
which  the  evil  thus  incurred  shall  be  inflicted,  must  be  deter- 
mined, in  many  respects,  by  the  nature  of  the  victim.  It  will 
assume  one  aspect  in  the  case  of  fallen  angels ;  another,  in  many 
of  its  features,  in  fallen  men ;  and  still  another  when  the  Prince 
of  Life  becomes  the  sufferer. 

The  infliction  thus  imposed  upon  the  transgressor  constitutes 
the  penalty  of  the  law.  By  this  phrase,  is  designated  that  evil, 
1 2.  Nature  of  which  is  defined  in  the  statute,  and  inflicted  by  the 
a  penalty.  officers  of  the  law,  for  the  vindication  of  its  sove- 

reignty against  transgressors.  Three  things  are,  therefore, 
involved  in  the  word,  penalty,  and  exhaustive  of  its  meaning. 
Its  design  is,  to  vindicate  the  sovereignty; — its  matter,  is  de- 
fined in  the  law ; — and  its  infliction  on  the  transgressor,  is  made 
by  the  officers  of  the  law,  in  accordance  with  its  mandate. 

An  entirely  different  view,  on  this  subject,  is  taken  by  the 
New  Haven  school  of  divines.  Says  Mr.  Barnes,  "The  penalty 
of  the  law  is  what  is  threatened  or  inflicted  by  the  lawgiver,  as 
an  expression  of  his  sense  of  the  value  of  the  law,  and  of  the 
evil  of  violating  it.  The  penalty  may  be  measured  or  deter- 
mined (a)  by  an  actual  statement,  on  his  part,  of  what  he  will 
inflict,  or,  what  the  violation  of  the  law  deserves ;  or  (b)  by  what 
actually  comes  upon  the  offender,  under  his  administration,  as 


sect,  i.]  Death  the  Penalty  of  the  Laio.  265 

the  consequence  of  violating  the  law.  In  other  words,  we  may 
learn  what  is  the  penalty  of  the  law,  from  revelation,  or  from 
observation  of  the  actual  course  of  events,  or  from  both  com- 
bined. The  actual  threatening  may  or  may  not  cover  the  whole 
ground;  and  what  the  penalty  is,  may  be  learned  partly  from 
the  statement,  and  partly  from  observation.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  we  ascertain,  in  a  great  measure,  what  the  penalty  of  vio- 
lating the  divine  law  is,  from  observation.  Thus,  we  learn  what 
is  the  penalty  of  intemperance,  partly  from  the  previous  state- 
ment of  what  will  be  the  consequences,  and  partly  from  an 
actual  observation  of  the  evils  which  come  upon  the  drunkard. 
To  know  what  the  real  penalty  is,  we  must  look  at  all  those  con- 
sequences on  the  body  and  the  soul;  on  the  property  and  the 
peace  of  the  drunkard,  on  his  family  and  his  reputation ;  on  the 
effects  in  delirium  tremens;  in  his  wretched  death,  in  his  dis- 
honoured memory,  and  in  the  woes  endured  forever.  All  these, 
and  not  a  part  of  them,  are  designed  to  express  the  Lawgiver's 
sense  of  the  value  of  the  law,  and  the  evil  of  its  violation.  To 
endure,  therefore,  the  penalty  of  the  law  in  the  case  of  intem- 
perance is  to  bear  all  the  evils  which  it  actually  brings  on  the 
offender  in  this  world  and  in  the  world  to  come.  If  a  substitute, 
therefore,  should  endure  the  literal  penalty  of  the  law,  all  must 
be  endured  which  would  actually  come  upon  the  offender  him- 
self."* 

This  whole  view  is  both  superficial  and  unsound;  involving 
erroneous  conceptions  in  respect  to  the  nature  of  the  evil  of  sin, 
as  well  as  concerning  the  office  of  the  penalty.  It  is  in  perfect 
keeping  with  that  whole  system,  according  to  which,  sin  consists 
in  the  outward  violation  of  statute  law.  Were  this  true,  there 
would  be  no  room  to  allow  any  evils  resulting  from  sin,  except 
such  as  the  law  inflicts.  It  would  seem  as  though  a  moment's 
reflection  upon  the  case  cited  by  our  author,  must  have  led  to  a 
discovery  of  the  fallacy  of  the  whole  theory.  Why  is  drunken- 
ness a  crime,  condemned  and  punished  by  the  law  of  God  ?  The 
only  reason  that  can  be  given  is,  that  the  natural  effects  result- 

*  Barnes  on  the  Atonement,  p.  233. 


266  The  Ehhim  Revealed.  [chap.  viii. 

ing  from  intemperance  are  such  as  are  incompatible  with  the 
duties  which  the  inebriate  owes,  to  himself,  his  family  and  God. 
It  is  because  the  free  use  of  alcohol  is  injurious  to  the  body  and 
mind,  and  involves  many  evils,  as  its  natural  consequences,  that 
God  has  forbidden  it,  and  sealed  the  prohibition  with  a  penal  curse. 
The  argument  of  Mr.  Barnes  confounds  this  penalty,  which  God 
inflicts,  with  those  evils  which  are  caused  immediately  by  the 
habit  itself,  and  to  protect  men  from  which,  was  the  very  design 
of  the  law  and  its  penalty.  As  we  have  already  seen,  there  are 
two  evils  in  sin,  which  are  not  to  be  confounded  together.  First, 
it  is  contrary  to  the  perfect  nature  of  God.  And,  as  God's  per- 
fection is  the  cause  of  his  own  blessedness;  and  his  likeness  is 
an  immediate  honour  and  cause  of  happiness,  to  those  who  imi- 
tate his  excellence, — so  is  sin,  in  and  of  itself,  an  evil  and  dis- 
honour, and  the  cause  of  multiplied  evils,  in  him  who  indulges 
it.  Thus,  love  is  the  immediate  cause  of  happiness,  to  its  pos- 
sessor, and  to  those  with  whom  he  is  brought  in  contact ;  whilst 
hatred  and  malevolence,  of  themselves,  banish  joy  from  the 
bosom  where  they  dwell,  and  mar  the  enjoyments  of  all  around. 
Not  only  so,  but  God,  as  Creator,  has  vindicated  his  own  excel- 
lency, by  so  ordering  it,  in  his  creation,  that  the  imitation  of  his 
perfections  is,  in  many  ways,  the  immediate  cause  of  increasing 
good  and  happiness  to  the  creatures;  -whilst  indulgence  in  sin 
induces  effects  of  an  opposite  character. 

The  second  evil  of  sin  has  respect  to  the  sovereignty  of  God. 
Because  of  its  essential  evil,  its  incongruity  to  his  own  most 
holy  nature,  God  has  seen  good,  as  sovereign,  to  prohibit  sin. 
And,  having  vindicated  his  essential  excellence,  by  the  natural 
relations,  which,  as  we  have  just  seen,  he  has  established  be- 
tween holiness  and  happiness,  sin  and  misery,  he  asserts  and 
vindicates  his  sovereignty,  by  annexing  the  penalty  of  the  law, 
which  his  sovereign  hand  judicially  enforces  against  those  who 
transgress  the  precept;  as  well  as  the  rewards,  which  we  shall 
hereafter  see  to  have  been  pledged  to  obedience. 

Thus,  have  the  holiness  and  the  sovereignty  of  God,  each, 
their  own  appropriate  relation  to  sin,  and  vindication,  against 
the  sinner  and  in  behalf  of  the  holy.     And,  as  a  broad  line  of 


sect,  ii.]  Death  the  Penalty  of  the  Law.  267 

demarcation  is  traceable,  between  the  essential  evil  of  sin, — 
which  is  moral  unlikeness  to  God, — and  its  formal  aspect, — which 
is,  violation  of  the  law, — so,  there  is  a  line,  equally  broad,  between 
those  provisions,  which  are  developed  through  the  operation  of 
the  natural  laws  of  cause  and  effect,  under  the  ordering  of  the  God 
of  providence,  and  those  judicial  provisions,  which  arise  out  of 
the  law,  and  are  dispensed  by  the  immediate  hand  of  the  eternal 
King.  The  former  class  attests  the  infinite  excellence  of  God, 
the  holy;  the  other  proclaims  the  righteous  and  eternal  sove- 
reignty of  the  Lawgiver  and  Judge.  The  one  arises  out  of  the 
very  nature  of  holiness,  as  good,  and,  of  sin,  as  evil;  and  can 
have  no  other  immediate  cause.  The  other  proceeds  from  the 
immediate  hand  of  God,  in  the  assertion  of  his  authority  and 
exercise  of  his  power.  As  relating  to  sin,  the  one  is  the  evil 
proper  to  sin  in  itself,  and  consequent  upon  it  as  a  natural  cause ; 
the  other  is  the  penalty,  defined  in  the  law  and  inflicted  by  God. 
These  distinctions,  thus  so  broadly  marked  and  important,  are, 
by  Mr.  Barnes,  entirely  overlooked  and  ignored,  in  the  vain 
attempt  to  escape  from  the  scriptural  doctrine  respecting  the 
penalty  of  the  law,  as  inflicted  on  the  Son  of  God,  our  vicarious 
Surety  at  the  bar  of  divine  justice. 

The  phrase,  "  penalty  of  sin,"  is  sometimes  used  in  a  general 
sense,  to  express  all  the  evils,  of  whatever  kind,  which  follow 
sin,  whether  consequential  or  punitive, — whether  vindicatory  of 
the  holiness,  or  of  the  sovereignty,  of  God.  But  the  phrase, 
"penalty  of  the  law,"  is  never  properly  used  to  designate  any 
evil  which  the  law  does  not  prescribe,  which  the  judge  does 
not  find  written  in  the  statute-book,  and  which  the  officers  of 
the  law  do  not  inflict  by  virtue  of  its  mandate; — any  thing,  in 
short,  which  is  not  expressly  designed  and  effectual  to  vindicate 
the  authority  of  the  law,  as  law;  and  of  God,  as  sovereign  and 
lawgiver.  That  authority  can  be  vindicated  against  the  disobe- 
dient, in  but  one  conceivable  way; — that  is,  by  the  infliction  of 
an  evil,  proportioned  to  the  transgression;  and  which,  being 
prescribed  in  the  law,  is  thus  unequivocally  attested  to  flow  from 
its  curse.  The  unimpaired  sovereignty  of  the  law  is  thus  sig- 
nalized; inasmuch  as  he,  by  whose  disobedience  it  has  been  dis- 


268  The  EhMm  Revealed.  [chap,  viii, 

honoured,  is  the  involuntary  evidence  of  its  supremacy;  by 
virtue  of  the  exercise  upon  him,  subjugated  though  hostile,  of 
its  absolute  power;  and  his  experience  of  the  terrors  and  fear- 
fulness  of  that  intolerable  and  inevitable  curse,  the  forewarnings 
of  which  he  has  contemned. 

Death,  was  the  name  used  to  designate  the  penalty,  at  the 
first  giving  of  the  law  to  our  first  parents.  "In  the  day  that 
\  3.  Death  not  thou  eatest  thereof,  thou  shalt  surely  die." — Gen.  ii. 
a  metaphor.  17.  Such  was  the  language  in  which  it  was  stated 
to  them  in  the  garden.  The  same  word  is  habitually  used  in 
the  Scriptures  as  expressive  of  the  judicial  infliction  incurred  by 
sin.  The  proper  and  primary  meaning  of  the  word,  as  addressed 
to  Adam,  and  descriptive  of  the  penalty  of  the  law,  was, — not 
specifically  bodily  decease,  spiritual  ruin,  nor  the  torments  of 
hell,  but — in  one  word — the  wrath  and  curse  of  God.  This  is 
the  definition,  implied  in  all  the  statements  of  the  Westminster 
standards.  They  always  distinguish  between  the  curse  itself, 
and  the  sorrows,  temporal  and  eternal,  which  flow  from  it;  and 
carefully  mark  their  consequential  relation  to  each  other.  Thus, 
in  the  Confession  of  Faith,  ch.  vi.  §  6: — "Every  sin,  both  ori- 
ginal and  actual,  being  a  transgression  of  the  righteous  law  of 
God,  and  contrary  thereunto,  doth,  in  its  own  nature,  bring 
guilt  upon  the  sinner,  whereby  he  is  bound  over  to  the  wrath 
of  God,  and  curse  of  the  law,  and  so  made  subject  to  death, 
with  all  miseries,  spiritual,  temporal  and  eternal."  Shorter 
Catechism,  Qu.  84 : — "Every  sin  deserveth  God's  wrath  and 
curse,  both  in  this  life  and  that  which  is  to  come."  Qu.  19 : — 
"All  mankind  by  their  fall  lost  communion  with  God,  are  under 
his  wrath  and  curse,  and  so  made  liable  to  all  miseries  in  this 
life,  to  death  itself,  and  to  the  pains  of  hell  forever."  See  also 
Larger  Catechism,  questions  27-29,  152,  &c. 

That  the  word,  death,  is  not  used  in  the  law  as  a  metaphor, 
but  as  signifying,  in  a  literal  sense,  the  curse  of  God,  is,  we 
think,  demonstrable.  The  metaphor  is  a  figure  of  speech,  in 
which  the  thing  named  only  bears  a  relation  of  analogy,  real  or 
fancied,  to  that  which  is  meant.  Thus,  when  we  speak  of  a 
man  of  towering  or  giant  intellect,  although  we  appeal  to  stand- 


sect,  ii.]  Death  the  Penalty  of  the  Law.  269 

ards  of  physical  dimensions,  the  design  is,  to  characterize  quali- 
ties which  are  unmeasurable  by  any  such  rule;  the  sense  of  the 
expression  being  traceable  only  through  a  distant  analogy.  The 
use  of  this  figure  implies  greater  familiarity  and  clearness  of 
apprehension,  in  regard  to  the  class  of  things  whence  the  figures 
are  selected,  than  to  that  to  which  they  are  applied  for  illustra- 
tion. It  employs  things  well  known,  to  illustrate  such  as  are 
less  known.  In  this  view,  it  is  remarkable,  to  our  present  pur- 
pose, that  in  metaphors  the  type  is  always  taken  from  the  natu- 
ral world, — from  material  things  and  their  properties,  to  illustrate 
truths  of  the  moral  world. 

The  use  of  this  figure,  therefore,  implies  a  darkened  state  of 
the  understanding  and  the  soul;  a  state  in  which  a  veil  is  inter- 
posed, so  that  man  is  not  able  to  apprehend  immediately,  and 
correspond  directly  with,  the  spiritual  world ;  but  only  mediately, 
through  the  help  of  visible  comparisons,  and  material  analogies. 
This  state  of  the  understanding  is  not  predicable  of  our  first 
parents,  when  the  law  was  given  to  them  in  innocency  at  their 
creation;  but  has  resulted  from  their  subsequent  apostasy  and 
fall.  Of  it  Paul  says,  that,  by  consequence  of  sin,  men  "  became 
vain  in  their  imaginations,  and  their  foolish  heart  was  darkened." 
— Rom.  i.  21.  They  "walk  in  the  vanity  of  their  mind,  having 
the  understanding  darkened,  being  alienated  from  the  life  of 
God,  through  the  ignorance  that  is  in  them,  because  of  the 
blindness  of  their  heart." — Eph.  iv.  17,  18.  So,  "the  natural 
man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God ;  for  they  are 
foolishness  unto  him,  neither  can  he  know  them,  because  they 
are  spiritually  discerned." — 1  Cor.  ii.  14.  Whilst,  thus,  the 
spiritual  nature,  including  the  intellectual  powers,  has  been 
obscured  and  darkened,  sense  has  assumed  the  pre-eminence. 
Hence,  the  introduction  of  the  metaphor  into  human  speech, — 
a  badge  of  the  fall,  at  the  same  time  that  it  constitutes  a  help 
to  our  darkness,  and  a  means  of  communication  with  the  world 
of  light  whence  we  are  exiled.  That  such  a  figure  was  not  em- 
ployed, in  communicating  the  law  to  Adam,  will  appear  from 
several  considerations. 

1.  We  have  already  seen  that  the  law  was  originally  inscribed 


270  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  viii. 

on  the  heart  of  Adam  in  his  creation.  That  the  penalty  was 
there  included,  is  evident  not  only  from  the  fact  of  its  being  an 
essential  element  in  the  law,  but  from  its  continuance  to  the 
present  hour,  deeply  engraven  on  every  human  heart  in  inse- 
parable connection  with  that  law.  In  this  case  there  is  no  room 
for  the  interposition  of  figurative  language;  as,  in  fact,  the  in- 
strumentality of  speech  was  not  employed  at  all;  but  the  crea- 
tive finger  inscribed  the  whole  upon  the  tablet  of  man's  soul. 
The  tree  of  knowledge  was  a  sacramental  seal  of  the  covenant 
of  works ;  of  which  we  shall  hereafter  speak.  It  constituted  a 
public  and  unambiguous  test  of  man's  obedience  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  law  already  given.  The  decree,  therefore,  which 
was  made  to  him,  in  regard  to  it,  was  merely  a  repetition  of 
obligations  and  a  sanction,  which  were  already  known  to  Adam ; 
for  the  purpose  of  defining  their  relation  to  the  particular  com- 
mand in  regard  to  that  tree.  When,  therefore,  the  Creator  saw 
fit  to  collect  and  concentrate  the  whole  authority  of  his  law,  and 
all  the  terrors  of  its  penal  sanction,  in  the  one  precept, — "  Of 
the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  thou  shalt  not  eat 
of  it;  for  in  the  day  that  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely 
die;" — it  is  unreasonable  to  imagine  him  to  have  expressed  the 
wrathful  curse,  which  Adam  by  nature  knew  to  attach  to  trans- 
gression, by  a  word,  the  proper  meaning  of  which  was  related 
to  the  sense  intended,  only  by  obscure  and  distant  analogies.  If 
ever,  then  was  the  time,  when  direct,  didactic  and  unambiguous 
language  was  needed, — language  which  should  strike  directly 
home  to  the  cords  of  consciousness  in  Adam's  already  instructed 
heart. 

Adam  needed  no  metaphor,  to  explain  to  him  the  meaning  of 
the  wrath  of  God.  He  knew  it  as  the  opposite  of  the  communion 
and  happiness  which  he  enjoyed.  The  figure,  too,  which  is 
thought  to  be  used,  even  if  he  had  been  at  all  able  to  understand 
it,  would  in  its  own  nature  have  been  exceedingly  vague  and 
misleading.  Instead  of  its  suggesting  spontaneously,  from  the 
analogies  of  physical  death,  the  meaning  of  the  threatening,  it 
is  difficult,  even  with  the  light  thrown  upon  the  subject  by  the 
sad  experience  of  our  race,  to  persuade  ourselves  that  any  ana- 


sect,  in.]  Death  the  Penalty  of  the  Law.  271 

logy  at  all  exists;  and  without  such  experience,  and  the  light  of 
the  Scriptures  revealing  the  eternal  sufferings  of  the  wicked, 
analogy  from  bodily  death  would  rather  have  induced  the  idea 
of  annihilation  as  the  penalty  of  sin. 

2.  But  another  fatal  objection  to  the  idea  that  the  language 
is  figurative,  occurs  in  the  fact,  that  of  natural  death,  from 
which  the  figure  is  supposed  to  be  taken,  Adam  had  as  yet  no 
knowledge.  It  was  creation's  dawn ;  a  scene  of  innocent  and 
happy  existence.  No  wrathful  cloud  had  frowned,  or  thunder 
burst  in  the  sky.  No  shriek  of  anguish  had  rent  the  air.  No 
dying  groan  had  yet  been  breathed,  nor  lifeless  corpse  defiled 
the  virgin  soil  of  creation.  Upon  the  supposition,  therefore, 
that  the  word,  death,  is  figuratively  used,  we  are  brought  to  the 
absurd  conclusion,  that  God,  in  addressing  the  pure  and  as  yet 
untarnished  intellect  of  Adam,  had  recourse  to  a  phenomenon, 
of  which  he  had  no  experience,  and  which  was  therefore  to  him 
as  yet  without  a  name,  to  illustrate  one  of  the  simplest  concep- 
tions which  could  be  brought  before  his  mind, — the  reverse  of 
God's  favour,  which  he  so  richly  enjoyed, — the  descent  of  his 
curse. 

3.  The  natural  and  beautiful  solution  which  our  interpretation 
gives,  to  the  various  and  apparently  incompatible  uses  of  the 
word,  death,  confirms  its  correctness.  The  law  to  which  it  is 
annexed  is  transgressed  by  our  first  parents.  The  transgression 
brings  in  the  penalty;  and  the  sentence  is  passed  by  God,  in  the 
form  of  a  curse  upon  the  woman,  in  her  relation  to  the  husband 
whom  she  had  ensnared,  and  the  children  whom  she  had  brought 
into  ruin ;  in  a  curse  upon  the  earth  for  man's  sake,  and  upon 
him,  in  the  toil  of  his  hands  and  the  sorrow  of  his  heart,  until  he 
return  to  the  ground  out  of  which  he  was  taken ;  and  upon  both, 
in  separation  from  the  tree  of  life,  and  exclusion  from  the  garden, 
and  the  presence  of  God.  How  must  the  sorrowing  and  penitent 
pair  have  marked,  in  the  gradual  development  of  their  own 
history,  the  unfolding  of  the  dreadful  comprehensiveness  of  that 
word  which  had  forewarned  them  of  the  frown  of  their  Maker 
against  sin,  until  at  length  affliction  came  upon  them  in  a  form 


272  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  viii. 

of  horror  in  which  bodily  dissolution  became  to  their  minds  the 
type  and  pledge  of  God's  consummated  curse. 

A  glance  at  a  part  of  their  earlier  history  will  shed  light  upon 
this  subject.  After  their  expulsion  from  the  garden,  however 
g  4.  Aid's  the  loving  hand  of  a  compassionate  and  covenant 
death.  G0d  may  have  smoothed  their  path,  yet  was  it  doubt- 

less one  of  continual  trouble.  Toil  and  sorrow  were  the  elements 
of  the  curse.  And  against  them  it  was  uttered ;  upon  them  enforced. 
When,  at  eventide,  toil-worn  and  hungry,  they  returned  from 
the  labours  of  the  day,  or  tossed  their  weary  and  aching  limbs 
by  night  upon  an  unquiet  couch,  and  remembered  the  innocence 
and  happiness  of  "  Eden,  blissful  seat,"  and  the  transgression 
and  curse  which  robbed  them  of  it  all ; — when  at  times  sickness 
came,  and  Eve  bathed  the  temples  of  her  husband,  burning  with 
fever,  and  throbbing  with  pain ; — when,  in  seasons  of  spiritual 
desertion  and  darkness,  the  flaming  sword  which  guarded  Eden, 
seemed  to  them  to  shine  with  an  angry  gleam,  their  supplications 
failed  of  a  gracious  recognition,  and  they  came,  unblessed,  in 
darkness  and  sorrow,  from  the  presence  of  Him  with  whom  they 
were  once  privileged  to  hold  free  and  unrestrained  intercourse, 
as  with  a  beloved  and  intimate  friend;  they  recognised  all  as 
bitter  streams  flowing  from  that  fountain,  death,  which  the  law 
had  denounced  against  transgression.  Yet  were  these  but  light 
and  transient  sorrows,  compared  with  the  poignant  grief  which 
in  process  of  time  they  were  called  to  realize. 

Nearly  a  hundred  and  thirty  years  had  hurried  by  since  earth 
first  smiled  in  verdure,  in  the  light  of  the  new-born  sun.  Per- 
haps it  was  a  Sabbath's  eve.  That  had  been  a  day  to  be  remem- 
bered by  our  first  parents.  According  to  their  custom,  they  had 
gathered  their  family  around  the  altar  of  God,  each  bringing  his 
offering  to  be  presented  there.  Cain,  their  stern  first-born, 
brought  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  a  thank-offering  to  the  God 
of  Providence ;  but  with  no  penitent  recognition  of  the  sin- 
atoning  Lamb.  To  his  offering  God  had  no  respect.  But  the 
distressful  feelings  thus  induced  in  Adam  and  Eve  were  soon  for- 
gotten in  the  tender  emotions  with  which  they  beheld  the  fire  of 
God  consume  the  lamb   which  Abel's  faith  presented.      They 


sect,  in.]  Death  the  Penalty  of  the  Law.  273 

saw  not  the  scowl  which  settled  on  the  brow  of  their  eldest  son, 
as  he  contrasted  his  own  rejected  offering  with  the  accepted 
pledge  of  his  brother's  piety.  And  now,  as  the  shades  of  evening 
gather,  Adam  and  Eve  sit  musing  in  their  tranquil  home  on  the 
transactions  of  the  day.  Perhaps  they  recur  to  the  sad  mistake 
of  Eve,  who,  upon  the  birth  of  her  first-born,  thought  that  already 
the  Seed  of  promise  had  come;  and,  exclaimed,  rnrv-rw  itf'K  'JVJR, 
"  I  have  obtained  the  man  Jehovah." — Gen.  iv.  1.  But,  as  the 
stillness  of  night  comes  on,  why  is  not  Abel  at  home  ?  At  even- 
tide he  went  forth  to  meditate  in  the  field.  But  the  wonted 
time  of  his  return  is  past,  and  yet  he  comes  not.  Every  rustling 
leaf  stirs  the  affectionate  heart  of  Eve,  as  she  listens  for  the  foot- 
step of  her  gentle  and  pious  son.  Cain  too  is  absent;  but  such 
is  often  his  mood,  to  wander  away,  withdrawn  from  the  commu- 
nion of  the  pious  house.  At  length  a  footfall  is  heard.  It 
is  the  hurried  step  of  Cain.  With  anxious  look,  Eve  asks, 
"Cain,  where  is  thy  brother?"  Cain  answers  evasively,  and 
hastens  to  seek  repose  in  sleep.  But  no  sleep  that  night  closed 
the  murderer's  eyes.  No  slumber  stilled  the  throbbings  of  his 
conscience-smitten  heart.  At  midnight  he  hears  a  voice;  but 
not  the  gentle  tones  of  his  mother.  The  stern  demand  is  made, 
— "  Cain,  where  is  thy  brother?"  Cain  knows  the  voice  of  God. 
But  whilst  his  hair  stands  up,  his  remorseless  spirit  replies,  in 
terms  of  insolent  defiance,  "  I  know  not.  Am  I  my  brother's 
keeper  ?"  Then  hears  he  the  dread  assurance, — "  The  voice 
of  thy  brother's  blood  crieth  to  me  from  the  ground ;  and  now 
art  thou  cursed  from  the  earth,  which  hath  opened  her  mouth 
to  receive  thy  .brother's  blood  from  thy  hand."  At  length  the 
desired  morning  dawns.  Adam  and  Eve  forsake  their  couch. 
Forebodings  of  coming  sorrow  have  banished  sleep.  They  go 
forth  to  seek  their  son ;  and  soon,  too  soon,,  they  find  the  bloody 
corpse !  Conceive  the  feelings  of  the  mother,  as  she  beholds,  in 
this  form  of  horror,  the  first  victim  of  the  curse  of  her  sin, — the 
first  trophy  of  death  !  With  all  a  mother's  undespairing  love, 
she  tries  every  means  to  resuscitate  the  lifeless  clay ;  until  even 
she  can  hope  no  more.     Then  breaks  forth  all  the  agony  of  a 

mother's  grief,  as  she  throws  herself  upon  the  loved,  the  cold  and 

is 


274  The  Elohlm  Revealed.  [chap.  viii. 

mangled  form.  "  0  Abel !  my  child  !  my  child!  It  was  I  that 
plucked  the  forbidden  fruit !  It  was  I  that  purchased  the  curse ! 
Would  to  God  I  that  day  had  perished!  That  thus  thou 
shouldst  be  the  victim  !  My  innocent  son  !  Abel !  Abel !  my 
son !  0  God  of  justice  !  This,  this  is  the  death  indeed !  This 
is  thy  uttermost  curse  !" 

Thus  readily  does  the  death  of  the  body  receive  the  name  of 
the  curse  whence  it  flows,  and  of  which  it  is  the  element  most 
signally  impressive  to  the  senses, — which  on  the  one  hand  con- 
summates and  swallows  up  in  itself  all  earthly  sorrows ;  and  on 
the  other,  launches  the  unredeemed  spirit  on  the  unutterable 
sorrows  of  the  second  death.  As  the  phenomena  of  bodily  death 
continually  force  themselves  upon  our  attention,  whilst  our 
carnal  apprehensions  fail  to  heed  the  multiplied  indications  of  a 
universal  curse  resting  upon  us,  this,  the  figurative  and  secondary 
sense  of  the  word,  has  usurped  the  primary  place ;  and  as  men 
have  "not  liked  to  retain  God  in  their  knowledge,"  especially  in 
respect  to  his  attributes  of  holiness  and  retributive  justice,  they 
have  gradually  lost  sight  of  the  radical  idea,  which  originally 
attached  to  the  word,  even  in  this  its  secondary  use ;  until  at 
length  it  has  come  to  be  understood  as  the  name  of  a  mere 
phenomenon  of  nature. 

That  bodily  dissolution  was  not  the  immediate  idea  expressed 
by  the  word,  death,  in  the  penalty  of  the  law,  is  still  further 
?  5.    Not         evident  from  several  considerations. 
physical  1.  If  that  was  the  meaning,  it  behooved  that  our 

death.  sinning   parents  had  actually  returned  to  dust  on 

the  day  of  the  transgression.  The  law  was,  "  In  the  day  that 
thou  eatest  thereof,  thou  shalt  surely  die."  Here  is  the  penalty 
named,  that  is,  death ;  the  time  emphatically  specified,  "  the  day 
that  thou  eatest  thereof;"  and  the  certainty  of  the  infliction 
marked  by  the  form  of  the  expression,  which  is  indicated  in  our 
translation  by  the  phrase,  "thou  shalt  surely  die," corresponding 
with  the  still  greater  force  of  the  original,  in  which  it  is  an  in- 
tensitive  repetition: — "dying  thou  shalt  die."  Here  is  something 
which  the  God  of  truth  declares  he  will  inflict  on  the  day  of 
transgression.     But  it  was  not  death  of  the  body ;  for  that  did 


sect,  iv.]  Death  the  Penalty  of  the  LaiD.  275 

not  occur.  It  is  in  vain  to  say  that  the  transgressors  then 
became  legally  dead;  or,  that  death  then  began.  These  ex- 
pressions need  only  to  be  stripped  of  their  figurative  forms,  to 
appear  incapable  of  vindication.  To  say  that  a  man  is  legally 
dead,  is,  in  other  words,  to  say  that  sentence  of  death  is  by  the 
law  passed  upon  him.  True: — But  the  law  also  specifies  the 
time  : — "  In  the  day  that  thou  eatest."  If  legal  death  satisfies 
this  provision  of  the  law,  it  must  also  meet  that  which  defines 
the  penalty ;  for  it  is  that  penalty  which  is  to  be  inflicted  on  the 
day  of  transgression.  And  if  this  be  admitted,  it  follows,  that 
the  law,  satisfied  with  this  "legal  death,"  can  never  demand  any 
other  !  In  other  words,  upon  this  view,  the  requirement  of  the 
law  may  be  met  by  the  solemn  passing  of  a  sentence,  which  shall 
never  be  inflicted, — by  a  farce  to  satisfy  the  Remands  of  decency ! 
So,  again,  the  phrase,  "  death  then  began,"  means,  that  it  then 
became  certain,  that  death  would  ultimately  take  place;  or,  at 
most,  that  the  seeds  of  disease  then  entered  the  body.  But 
prospective  death  is  not  death.  The  seeds  of  sickness,  or  even 
disease  realized,  is  not  death,  or  dissolution  of  the  body.  And  if 
that  be  what  is  meant  by  the  sentence  of  the  law,  these  will  not 
satisfy  the  requirements  of  the  case.  In  short,  bodily  death  did 
not  occur,  because  that  was  not  the  threatening  couched  in  the 
word.  But  the  curse  which  it  designed  to  express  did  fall  at 
once ;  and  it  is  not  unworthy  of  observation,  that  in  the  sentence, 
as  passed  after  the  fall,  the  word,  death,  is  not  employed  to  sig- 
nify that  "return  to  dust,"  which  was  enumerated  among  the 
miseries  which  resulted  from  the  penalty  of  the  law,  then  in- 
flicted by  the  justice  of  God. 

2.  Christ  was  made  under  the  law,  "  that  through  death  he 
might  destroy  him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the 
devil,  and  deliver  them  who  through  fear  of  death  were  all 
their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage." — Heb.  ii.  14,  15.  He  "hath 
abolished  death," — 2  Tim.  i.  10;  and  assures  the  bereaved 
Martha,  "  He  that  believeth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet 
shall  he  live ;  and  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall 
never  die." — John  xi.  25,  26.  Yet  of  all  who  then  heard  and 
believed,  and  of  all  the  after  generations  who  have  trusted  in 


276  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  viii. 

these  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises,  not  one  has  avoided 
return  to  the  dust.  Evidently,  Christ  did  not  speak  of  bodily 
dissolution,  but  of  something  different,  constituting  the  penalty 
of  the  law  for  sin,  which  he  satisfied.  Equally  conclusive  is  his 
language  in  John  v.  24 : — "  He  that  heareth  my  word,  and 
believeth  on  him  that  sent  me,  hath  everlasting  life,  and  shall  not 
come  into  condemnation,  but  is  passed  from  death  unto  life." 
"  From  death  unto  life," — from  under  the  wrath  of  God  to  the 
enjoyment  of  his  smile. 

As  if  to  mark  with  emphasis  the  fact  that  the  word,  death, 
properly  expresses  wrath,  the  Scriptures  repudiate  its  use,  in  the 
,  „   „   .,  .       case  of  the  people  of  God.     "  The  maid  is  not  dead, 

$  6.  Death  is  -T      r  ' 

God's  inflicted  but  sleepeth,"  said  Jesus  of  the  ruler's  daughter, 
curse.  — Matt.  ix.  24 ;    and  again,  "  Our  friend  Lazarus 

sleepeth ;  but  I  go  that  I  may  awake  him  out  of  sleep." — John 
xi.  11.  So,  Stephen  "fell  asleep;"  and,  not  to  multiply  citations, 
observe  the  contrast  between  the  accursed  death  which  Christ  en- 
dured for  sin,  and  the  blessed  departure  of  his  people,  as  marked 
in  this  language  of  Paul : — "  For  if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died 
and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God 
bring  with  him." — 1  Thess.  iv.  14.  And  again,  "  God  hath  not 
appointed  us  unto  wrath,  but  to  obtain  salvation  by  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  died  for  us,  that,  whether  we  wake  or  sleep, 
we  should  live  together  with  him." — 1  Thess.  v.  9,  10. 

A  careful  inspection  of  the  Scriptures  will  show  that  the  word, 
death,  is  there  familiarly  used  in  the  sense  which  we  attribute 
to  it,  as  the  primary  and  proper  one.  Thus,  in  reference  to  the 
plague  of  locusts,  Pharaoh  says  to  Moses,  "  Forgive,  I  pray  thee, 
my  sin  only  this  once,  and  entreat  the  Lord  your  God,  that  he 
may  take  away  from  me  this  death  only." — Ex.  x.  17.  The 
prophet  Elisha,  in  removing  the  curse  which  had  been  affixed  to 
Jericho, — in  regard  to  which  see  Joshua  vi.  17,  18,  26,  and  1 
Kings  xvi.  34, — cast  salt  into  the  spring,  saying,  "  Thus  saith 
the  Lord :  I  have  healed  these  waters  ;  there  shall  not  be  thence 
any  more  death  or  barren  land." — 2  Kings  ii.  21.  Says  Hosea, 
"When  Ephraim  spake  trembling,  he  exalted  himself  in  Israel; 
but  when  he  offended  in  Baal,  he  died.    And  now  they  sin  more 


sect,  v.]  Death  the  Penalty  of  the  Law.  277 

and  more." — Hos.  xiii.  1,  2.  To  the  same  effect  is  the  language 
of  Paul: — "To  be  carnally  minded  is  death;  .  .  .  for  the  carnal 
mind  is  enmity  against  God.  .  .  .  So,  then,  they  that  are  in  the 
flesh  cannot  please  God." — Eom.  viii.  6-8. 

But  it  is  doing  injustice  to  the  evidence,  to  attempt  a  selection 
of  particular  passages.  They  cannot  convey  the  force  of  the 
argument  which  exists  in  the  whole  style  of  the  Scriptures, 
as  regards  this  word,  and  the  interchange  of  it  with  others, 
about  the  meaning  of  which  there  can  be  no  question. 
The  law  announces  death  as  the  punishment  of  sin.  The 
Judge,  after  sin  has  entered,  appeals  to  the  law,  (Gen.  iii.  11,) 
and  passes  sentence  according  to  its  demands.  That  sentence  is 
a  curse;  and  in  it,  bodily  dissolution  has  no  more  emphatic  men- 
tion than  the  toils  of  labour.  "When  afterwards  God  proclaimed 
the  law  to  Israel, — the  same  law  which  had  been  given  to  Adam 
at  first,* — its  sanction  is,  "Cursed  be  he  that  confirmeth  not  all 
the  words  of  this  law  to  do  them." — Dent,  xxvii.  26.  With  this 
compare  the  preceding  verses,  and  ch.  xi.  26-29.  To  this  lan- 
guage the  apostle  Paul  appeals,  in  unfolding  the  doctrine  of 
justification  by  the  righteousness  of  that  Seed,  who  was  pro- 
mised to  the  woman,  as  the  destroyer  of  "him  who  had  tho 
power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil."  "For,"  says  he,  "as  many 
as  are  of  the  works  of  the  law,  are  under  the  curse;  for  it  is 
written,  Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  things 
which  are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them.  .  .  .  Christ 
hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse 
for  us;  for  it  is  written,  Cursed  is  every  one  that  hangeth  on  a 
tree." — Gal.  iii.  10,  13.  To  the  same  purpose  is  the  statement 
of  the  apostle,  that  "the  law  worketh  wrath," — Eom.  iv.  15; 
and  that  "the  wrath  of  God  cometh  on  the  children  of  disobe- 
dience,"— Eph.  v.  6 ;  and  the  designation  by  which  transgressors 
of  the  law  are  called,  "children  of  wrath." — Eph.  ii.  3. 

In  short,  it  can  hardly  be  questioned  by  any  one,  that  the 

*  "  The  rule  which  God  at  first  revealed  to  man  for  his  obedience,  was  the 
moral  law. 

"The  moral  law  is  summarily  comprehended  in  the  ten  commandments." — 
Shorter  Calcchism,  Questions  40,  41. 


278  The  EloTdm  Revealed.  [chap.  viii. 

word,  death,  as  originally  used,  was  designed  to  express  the  true 
and  proper  penal  sanction  of  the  law.  No  one  can  do  otherwise 
than  admit  that  sanction  to  consist  essentially  in  the  wrath  and 
curse  of  God.  And  it  would  seem,  further,  impossible  to  doubt, 
for  reasons  already  given,  that  bodily  dissolution  is  improperly 
expressed  by  the  use  of  the  word,  except  where  that  phenomenon 
constitutes  an  element  in  God's  dealings  with  his  enemies. 

There  are  four  instances,  given  in  the  Scriptures,  from  which 
we  may  learn  the  precise  intent  of  the  word  in  question : — Be- 
lievers, of  whom,  although  their  bodies  return  to  dust,  we  are 
assured  that  they  "  never  taste  of  death ;" — John  viii.  52 ; — devils, 
who  cannot  realize  bodily  dissolution,  yet  experience  all  the 
horrors  of  the  penal  death;  (Rev.  xx.  10,  14); — Christ,  who 
tasted  death  for  every  man,  in  body  and  soul,  although  his  suf- 
ferings were  comprehended  within  the  days  of  his  flesh;  and  in 
whom  was  no  sin ; — and  wicked  men,  in  whom  death  reigns  for- 
ever, in  impurity  and  woe.  From  these  cases  it  is  apparent  that 
bodily  dissolution,  remorse,  and  eternity  of  torment,  are  but 
accidental  incidents  to  the  infliction  of  the  real  death. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  thought  that  we  have  dwelt  needlessly  on 
this  point.  If  we  are  not  mistaken  in  its  importance,  what  has 
been  said  will  have  been  well  urged,  if  it  brings  the  mind  of  the 
reader  clearly  and  fully  to  the  conviction  that  the  word,  death, — 
the  penalty  of  the  law, — expressed,  and  was  intended  to  express, 
the  single  idea  of  the  inflicted  curse  of  God.  It  did  not,  nor 
was  it  designed  to,  descend  into  any  enumeration  of  the  particu- 
lars of  the  misery  which  must  be  realized,  in  soul  and  body,  in 
possessions  and  pursuits,  in  time  and  eternity,  by  a  creature, 
upon  whom  rests  the  wrath  of  his  omnipresent,  eternal  and  infi- 
nite Creator.  As  we  have  already  seen  the  law  to  have  been 
endowed  with  a  flexibility  of  adaptation  to  all  circumstances  of 
all  created  intelligences,  so  is  the  penalty.  The  one  curse  of 
Jehovah — death — involves  men  and  devils  in  calamities,  in  some 
respects  similar,  but  in  many  altogether  unlike;  dependent  on 
their  diversity  of  nature  and  circumstances.  So,  too,  whilst  the 
Son  of  God,  when  he  bore  the  curse,  did  not  realize  some  of  the 
features  of  the  wrath  which  wicked  men  and  devils  experience; 


sect,  vl]  Death  the  Penalty  of  the  Laic.  279 

on  the  other  hand,  there  were  elements  of  bitterness  in  his  cup, 
of  which  no  other  being  can  ever  taste. 

Such,  then,  was  the  penal  sanction  which  admonished  Adam, 
as  in  original  rectitude  he  was  invested  with  the  domain  of 
earth,  and  the  sovereignty  of  the  creatures,  under  allegiance  to 
God.  He  is  ruled  by  a  law,  which,  in  its  exceeding  simplicity 
is  reducible  to  the  one  word,  love;  and,  in  its  amazing  compass, 
adapts  itself  to  all  cases,  and  all  time.  His  obedience  is  enforced 
by  the  threatening  of  a  penalty,  which,  simple  as  the  law  itself, 
in  the  single  word,  death,  sums  its  whole  significance.  But  in 
that  word, — announcing  the  wrath  of  Him  in  whom  he  lived, 
and  moved,  and  had  his  being,  and  in  whose  benignant  smile  he 
found  all  his  happiness, — he  was  forewarned  of  a  ruin,  infinite 
as  the  nature  of  God,  comprehensive  as  the  being  of  the  victim, 
and  enduring  as  that  eternity,  with  the  endowment  of  which  his 
Maker  had  sealed  his  own  likeness  in  the  soul  of  man. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   LAW   A   COVENANT   OF   LIFE. 

"  Fcedus  Dei  cum  suis,  geminum  numeratur  in  Scripturis;  alterum,  naturw,  cum 
homine  adhucdum  integro  ;  alterum,  gratise,  cum  corrupto.  Prius  illud,  cujus 
hie  agimus  negotium,  designari  a  theologis  consuevit,  jam  foedus  legale,  quod 
perfectam  obedientiam  legi,  tarn  decalogicas,  cordi  ejus  inscriptse ;  quam  pe- 
culiari  isti  de  non  manducando  fructu  vetito,  praestandam,  pro  conditions  ha- 
buerit  consequendi  vitam  eeternam :  jam  2.  foedus  operum,  quod  pro  imperio 
prsescribat,  absolutissimum  legis  obsequium,  sub  symbolo  non  manducandi 
fructum  arboris  vetitse  :  jam  3.  foedus  naturse,  quod  non  tantum  legi  isti  exigat 
obedientiam,  quae  maxima  sui  parte,  hominis  naturse  erat  insculpta ;  sed  etiam, 
quod  cum  universa  natura  humana,  ex  online  generationis,  etiam  adhucdum 
futura,  coierit." — Van  Mastkicht  Theologia,  Lib.  3,  cap.  xii.  8. 

Science  has  amused  itself  with  the  construction  of  a  curious 
box,  in  which,  by  the  skilful  arrangement  of  small  mirrors,  and 
2 1.  The  cove-  bits  of  various-coloured  glass,  beautiful  figures,  ar- 
nant gratuitous  rayed  in  rainbow  hues,  present  themselves  to  the 
from  God.  ey^  ^n  eyer  varying  forms.  In  it  you  admire  some 
striking  combination;  but,  as  you  gaze,  the  instrument  is  moved 
by  some  slight  touch.  Quick  as  thought,  the  image  is  gone,  and 
new  forms  have  taken  its  place.  For  days  may  you  watch  the 
fantastic  shapes  which  in  succession  appear  and  then  vanish  for- 
ever away ;  and  yet,  among  them  all,  never  again  will  you  recog- 
nise that  which  first  excited  your  admiration.  It  is  gone.  No 
eye  but  yours  ever  rested  upon  it;  no  other  will  ever  catch  the 
reflection  of  its  form. 

So  might  God  have  made  this  beautiful  world  a  kaleidoscope 
for  the  admiration  and  instruction  of  angelic  hosts, — in  which 
they  should  have  seen  ever  new  and  varying  creations  springing 
into  existence,  and  passing  away,  to  display  the  power,  and 
wisdom,  and  wonderful  resources  of  the  Creator.     Of  all  these 

280 


sect,  i.]  The  Law  a  Covenant  of  Life.  281 

exhibitions  of  grandeur,  beauty  and  excellence,  man,  the  loftiest 
and  the  best,  might  have  been  called  in  his  turn,  by  omnipotence, 
from  nothing;  and  permitted  for  a  few  brief  days  to  delight 
himself  in  the  fresh  and  gladdening  scenes  of  the  new-born 
earth;  to  admire  and  adore  the  goodness  and  wisdom  which 
everywhere  shone ;  himself  cast  a  brighter  beam  of  divine  glory 
over  the  whole;  and  then  unconsciously  vanish,  to  give  place  to 
some  being  endowed  with  still  higher  gifts,  and  more  eminently 
qualified  to  admire  and  adore,  as  well  as  display  and  illustrate, 
the  perfections  of  the  Creator.  Had  such  been  the  case,  no 
right  of  the  creature  had  been  violated,  and  no  attribute  of  the 
Creator  tarnished. 

When  Adam  enjoyed  those  pleasurable  sensations,  which  arose 
from  the  exercise  of  his  bodily  faculties,  and  the  powers  of  his 
mind  and  soul, — as  he  went  forth  to  receive  the  homage  of  the 
brute  creation,  and  set  upon  them  the  seal  of  his  sovereignty, 
in  the  names  he  imposed, — as  he  assumed  possession  of  the  do- 
main with  which  the  Creator's  goodness  had  endowed  him, 
which  everywhere  shone  resplendent  with  its  Author's  glory, — 
as  he  inhaled  the  fragrance  of  the  new-blown  flowers,  and  ad- 
mired the  beauty  of  the  virgin  world,  basking  in  the  warm  and 
genial  beams  of  the  morning  sun;  or  caught  new  pleasure  from 
the  brightness  of  the  twinkling  train  of  the  evening  sky,  and 
the  grandeur  of  their  crescent  queen, — it  became  him  to  burst 
forth  in  high  strains  of  adoration,  due  to  the  glorious  One,  the 
Maker  of  them  all;  whose  breath  gave  him  life,  and  inspired 
him  with  those  exquisite  emotions  of  happiness ; — and  this,  too, 
as  much,  even  though  the  sun,  which  first  shone  on  his  birth, 
had  been  destined  ere  its  decline  to  witness  his  life  and  being 
withdrawn,  and  Nothing,  whence  he  came,  receive  him  back  to 
her  bosom  of  silence.  Whatever  he  had  of  life  or  endowment 
was  the  gift  of  a  Power,  who  might  at  any  time,  in  unquestioned 
sovereignty,  reclaim  what  he  had  in  goodness  lent;  and  thus  far 
we  have  no  assurance  that  man,  with  all  his  capacities,  and  all 
his  gifts,  will  not  prove  fleeting  as  the  golden  drapery  of  the 
evening  sky,  which  flings  a  passing  splendour  on  the  Bcenery 
of  nature,  then  dies  in  the  shadows  of  night.     Had  such  been 


282  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  ix. 

tile  history  of  man,  or  of  successive  intelligences  on  this  earth, 
any  suggestion  of  complaint  must  have  been  forever  silenced  by 
the  demand,  "Is  it  not  lawful  for  me  to  do  what  I  will  with 
mine  own?"  and  witnessing  angels  had,  on  each  new  display, 
attuned  their  harps  to  new  themes,  and  cried,  "  Glorious  are  thy 
works,  and  just  and  holy  thy  ways,  Lord  God  Almighty." 

In  such  proceeding,  God  had  indeed  been  glorified;  but 
where,  then,  had  been  the  bright  hopes  of  immortality  which  he 
has  deigned  to  confer  on  our  race?  How,  then,  had  been  un- 
folded the  crowning  glory  of  God,  which  is  now  displayed  in 
the  economy  of  grace  to  apostate  man,  ransomed  from  hell  by 
the  blood  of  the  second  Adam, — "God  manifest  in  the  flesh"? 
Ye  angel  choir,  prepare  new  anthems  of  nobler  praise ;  not  to 
extol  creating  wisdom  and  power,  but  to  celebrate  redeeming 
love !  Ye  sons  of  Adam,  lift  up  your  voices,  and  magnify  the 
grace  which  formed  the  plan,  and  gave  the  Son,  a  ransom  for 
the  sins  of  men! 

Of  that  scheme,  the  covenant  of  life  with  Adam  was  the  first 
element.  In  it,  we  view  a  feature  of  God's  dealings  with  him, 
which  presents  the  parties  in  an  entirely  new  aspect, — their 
position  toward  each  other  altogether  transformed.  God  here 
stoops  from  his  throne,  to  enter  into  covenant  bonds  with  man; 
and  our  first  parents  rise,  from  the  attitude  of  mere  creature 
dependence,  heretofore  contemplated,  to  the  dignity  of  parties 
confederate  with  God;  and  acquire  from  him  a  covenant  pro- 
perty in  life  and  happiness,  in  the  sustaining  power  and  benefi- 
cence of  their  Maker.  The  covenant  between  God  and  man 
presents  itself  in  two  forms: — the  one,  native,  and  the  other, 
positive.  Here,  it  will  first  be  viewed  in  the  former  aspect. 
The  effect  of  the  positive  constitution  of  it  will  afterward  be 
considered.  As  there  are  some  who  deny  that  any  covenant 
transaction  took  place  between  God  and  Adam,  we  shall  first 
inquire  into  the  facts ;  and  shall  then  be  prepared  to  determine 
whether  they  come  under  the  definition  of  a  covenant. 

The  Mosaic  narrative  states  that  the  Lord  God  planted  a 
garden,  eastward  in  Eden,  and  there  he  put  the  man  whom  he 
had  formed.     "And  out  of  the  ground  made    the  Lord   God 


sect,  i.]  The  Laic  a  Covenant  of  Life.  283 

to  grow  every  tree  that  is  pleasant  to  the  sight  and  good  for 
food ;  the  tree  of  life  also,  in  the  midst  of  the  garden,  and  the 
z  2.  The  ^ree  °f  knowledge  of  good  and  evil.  And  a  river 
promise  and  went  out  of  Eden,  to  water  the  garden."  "And 
its  seals.  ft±e  Lord  God  commanded  the  man,  saying,  Of  every 

tree  of  the  garden  thou  mayest  freely  eat ;  but  of  the  tree  of  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil  thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it ;  for  in  the 
day  that  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die." — Gen.  ii.  10, 
16,  17.  Here  are  four  things  bearing  directly  on  the  matter 
before  us  : — The  garden;  the  river;  the  tree  of  life,  and  privilege 
respecting  it ;  and  the  tree  of  knowledge,  and  prohibition  con- 
cerning; it. 

o 

1.  The  garden  was  a  type  of  heaven,  as  a  world  of  security 
and  perfect  blessedness  and  beauty.  That  this  is  so,  needs  but 
little  argument.  It  is  described  as  planted  by  God  himself,  and 
enclosed  so  as  to  be  accessible  only  at  the  gate ;  it  was  watered 
by  a  river  flowing  through  it ;  contained  in  its  midst  the  tree 
of  life;  man,  created  outside,  was  brought  into  it;  and  upon  his 
sin,  he  was  excluded  from  it,  although  it  was  not  destroyed,  but 
placed  under  cherubic  guard.  By  the  Hebrews  it  was  always 
regarded  as  a  type  of  heaven,  which  they  hence  called  paradise, 
from  the  Greek  {jzo.pddtcao^)  paradeisos,  a  garden.  This  opinion 
was  recognised  and  sanctioned  by  our  Saviour,  when  he,  the 
second  Adam,  on  the  cross,  expiating  the  sin  of  the  first,  and  re- 
opening the  way  to  a  forfeited  heaven,  assures  the  thief,  "  To- 
day shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise." — Luke  xxiii.  43.  So 
Paul  says  of  himself,  "  I  knew  a  man  .  .  .  caught  up  to  the 
third  heaven,  .  .  .  into  paradise." — 2  Cor.  xii.  2,  4.  Again,  with 
still  more  emphatic  reference  to  the  garden  of  Eden,  the  Son 
of  God  writes,  by  John,  to  the  church  of  Ephesus,  "  To  him  that 
overcometh,  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which  is  in 
the  midst  of  the  paradise  of  God." — Rev.  ii.  7.  In  the  last 
chapter  of  the  Revelation  we  have  a  vision  of  that  paradise,  no 
longer  a  solitary  garden,  the  abode  of  a  single  pair,  but  grown 
into  a  city,  whose  maker  and  builder  is  God,  and  filled  with  the 
innumerable  company  of  the  redeemed.  But  still  the  tree  of 
life  flourishes  in  the  streets,  in  eternal  verdure  and  fruitfulness, 


284  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  ix. 

and  the  river  flows  through  the  midst  in  an  exhanstless  stream. 
Rev.  xxi.  and  xxii.  1,  2,  3. 

2.  The  river  which  watered  the  garden  was  a  symbol  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  alone  source  of  strength  adequate  to  Adam's 
duties,  and  of  spiritual  growth  and  fruitfulness.  Hence,  it  is,  in 
the  book  of  the  Revelation,  described  as  proceeding  out  of  the 
throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb.  (Rev.  xxii.  1.)  Compare  this  with 
the  language  of  Christ: — "  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto 
me  and  drink.  He  that  believeth  on  me,  as  the  Scripture  hath 
said,  out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water.  But  this 
spake  he  of  the  Spirit  which  they  that  believe  on  him  should 
receive." — John  vii.  37-39.     See  also  John  iv.  14. 

3.  The  tree  of  life  was  a  type  of  the  fruits  of  holiness  in 
active  obedience,  the  righteousness  requisite  to  eternal  life.  As 
it  stood  in  the  garden,  it  constituted  a  sacramental  attestation 
and  seal  to  Adam's  obedience,  and  to  the  covenant  of  life  con- 
ditioned upon  it.  The  language  used  in  connection  with  the  ex- 
clusion of  Adam  from  Eden  implies  the  tree  to  have  been  a  sacra- 
ment of  life.  "  Lest  he  put  forth  his  hand,  and  take  also  of  the 
tree  of  life,  and  eat,  and  live  forever,  therefore  the  Lord  God 
sent  him  forth  from  the  garden." — Gen.  iii.  22,  23.  To  the 
same  conclusion  tends  the  language  of  the  Son  of  God: — "To 
him  that  overcometh,  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life, 
which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  paradise  of  God." — Rev.  ii.  7. 
And  again,  "  Blessed  are  they  that  do  his  commandments,  that 
they  may  have  a  right  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter  in 
through  the  gates  into  the  city." — Rev.  xxii.  14.  The  tree,  as  it 
stands  in  the  new  Jerusalem,  is  a  type  of  the  righteousness  of 
Christ,  which  now  takes  the  place  of  our  own  in  our  justifica- 
tion. Hence,  it  is  said,  that  "its  leaves  are  for  the  healing  of 
the  nations." — Rev.  xxii.  2.  The  meaning  of  the  description 
thus  given  will  be  immediately  seen  by  reference  to  the  re- 
markable discourse  of  our  Saviour,  recorded  in  John  vi.  He 
says,  "I  am  the  bread  of  life ;  he  that  cometh  to  me  shall  never 
hunger,  and  he  that  believeth  on  me  shall  never  thirst."  "  He 
that  believeth  on  me  hath  everlasting  life.  I  am  that  bread  of 
life."     "  Except  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  man,  and  drink 


sect,  ii.]  The  Law  a  Covenant  of  Life.  285 

his  blood,  ye  have  no  life  in  you.  Whoso  eateth  my  flesh  and 
drinketh  my  blood  hath  eternal  life,  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at 
the  last  day.  For  my  flesh  is  meat  indeed,  and  my  blood  is 
drink  indeed."— John  vi.  35,  47,  48,  53-55. 

4.  The  tree  of  knowledge  was  a  seal  to  the  penal  sanction  of 
the  law.  As  its  name  indicated,  it  constituted  a  test  by  means 
of  which  it  should  appear  whether  Adam  chose  good  or  evil. 
In  regard  to  this  tree,  Adam  is  commanded,  "  Thou  shalt  not 
eat  of  it;  for  in  the  day  that  thou  eatest  thereof,  thou  shalt 
surely  die."  Although  express  mention  is  here  made  of  the 
penal  sanction  only,  yet  it  involves,  by  necessary  implication,  the 
alternative  promise  of  life,  in  case  of  obedience.  The  transaction 
is  a  signal  deviation  from  the  course  of  economy  appropriate  to 
God's  purely  sovereign  relation  to  a  sinless  being,  viewed  merely 
as  a  subject.  To  that,  the  moral  law,  enforced  as  it  is  by  the 
same  sanction  which  is  here  announced,  was  altogether  ade- 
quate ;  and  therefore,  in  honour  of  that  perfection  of  the  law, 
and  of  himself,  its  author,  it  would  have  been  necessary  that  its 
precepts  should  be  left  the  alone  statutes  of  government,  had 
God  seen  fit  to  sustain  the  relation  of  a  sovereign  merely.  The 
superimposing,  therefore,  of  a  positive  precept,  in  regard  to  a 
thing  in  itself  indifferent,  indicates  the  sovereign  to  occupy 
covenant  relations  to  his  subjects.  It  binds  and  limits  the 
penalty  to  that  particular  precept;  and,  by  virtue  of  the  tempo- 
rary character  which  attaches  to  a  law  of  this  nature,  implies 
the  speedy  termination  of  probation ;  and, — upon  the  supposition 
of  a  favourable  result, — the  abrogation  of  the  penal  sanction 
altogether,  the  abolition  of  the  curse,  and  the  enjoyment  by  the 
creature  of  a  favour  of  God  and  happiness  proportioned  to  the 
tearfulness  of  the  penalty  which  constituted  the  alternative. 

5.  To  the  matters  thus  enumerated  must  be  added,  the  institu- 
tion of  the  Sabbath,  which  constituted  not  only  a  day  of  necessary 
rest  and  devotion,  but  especially  a  type  and  seal  of  the  heavenly 
rest.  That  such  was  its  character,  let  us  hear  the  evidence  of 
Paul: — "For  we  which  have  believed  do  enter  into  rest,  as  he 
said,  As  I  have  sworn  in  my  wrath,  if  they  shall  enter  into  my 
rest :  although  the  works  were  finished  from  the  foundation  of 


286  Tlie  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  ix. 

the  world.  For  he  spoke  in  a  certain  place  of  the  seventh  clay, 
on  this  wise,  And  God  did  rest  the  seventh  day  from  all  his 
works.  And  in  this  place  again,  If  they  shall  enter  into  my 
rest.  .  .  .  There  remaineth  therefore  a  rest  for  the  people  of 
God." — Heb.  iv.  3-5,  9.  Thus,  then,  did  the  Sabbath  constitute 
to  Adam  a  sacramental  pledge  of  heaven,  viewed  as  the  goal  of 
his  earthly  course,  and  the  end  of  his  work  of  probation.  And 
it  is  not  unworthy  of  consideration,  whether  the  occurrence  of 
the  Sabbath  so  soon  after  Adam's  entrance  on  the  stage  of  action, 
was  not  designed  as  an  intimation,  that  the  period  of  probation 
would  be  brief,  and  the  reward  of  faithfulness  early  attained. 

Such,  then,  were  the  principal  elements  of  the  providential 
dealing  of  God  with  Adam,  as  bearing  upon  the  present  point. 
Whilst,  alike  in  the  law  written  on  his  heart,  and  the  precept 
addressed  to  his  intellect,  he  reads  the  curse  of  his  Maker  de- 
nounced against  transgression,  on  the  other  hand,  he  has  in  many 
forms  the  pledge  of  life  sealed  to  him  as  the  reward  of  obedience. 
It  is  engraven  in  indelible  characters  on  his  heart.  It  speaks 
in  the  garden  enclosed;  which  in  all  its  fruitfulness  and  beauty 
told  of  heaven  as  his  ultimate  home.  He  hears  its  voice  in  the 
murmur  of  the  river,  testifying  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  his  exhaust- 
less'  source  of  strength  and  holiness.  He  has  it  in  the  tree  of 
life,  which,  as  he  ate,  sealed  to  him  the  reward  of  obedience.  It 
stands  revealed  in  the  tree  of  knowledge,  which,  while  uttering 
and  sealing  the  curse,  implied  and  illumined  the  promise.  It 
shone  in  the  tranquil  light  and  holy  rest  of  the  Sabbath ;  fore- 
shadowing and  sealing  to  him  the  end  of  probation,  in  the  resi; 
of  heaven.  And  we  may  add, — he  enjoyed  it  in  that  communion 
with  God,  which  was  granted  to  him;  which,  by  unveiling  to 
him  the  face  of  Him  that  liveth  and  in  whom  he  lived,  and  im- 
parting the  joy  of  his  favour,  implied  the  continuance  of  it  to 
him  in  continued  allegiance.  That  all  these  facts  lead  to  the 
inevitable  conclusion  that  a  promise  of  life  was  given  to  Adam 
upon  condition  of  obedience,  it  would  seem  almost  impossible 
that  any  one  should  deny. 

But  here  comes  in  a  question  which  is  of  no  little  importance. 
Did  the  promise  originate  in  connection  with  the  positive  precept 


sect,  ii.]  The  Law  a  Covenant  of Life.  287 

respecting  the  tree  of  knowledge?  Or  was  it  contemporaneous 
I  3.  Bate  of  with  and  incorporated  in  the  moral  law,  written  on 
the  promise.  the  heart  of  Adam  at  his  creation  ?  That  the  latter 
is  the  doctrine  of  the  "Westminster  standards,  will  conclusively 
appear  in  the  following  paragraphs : — 

"  The  rule  of  obedience  revealed  to  Adam  in  the  estate  of  in- 
nocency,  and  to  all  mankind  in  him,  beside  a  special  command 
not  to  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil,  was  the  moral  law. 

"The  moral  law  is  the  declaration  of  the  will  of  God  to  man- 
kind, directing  and  binding  every  one  to  personal,  perfect  and 
perpetual  conformity  and  obedience  thereunto,  in  the  frame  and 
disposition  of  the  whole  man,  soul  and  body,  and  in  performance 
of  all  those  duties  of  holiness  and  righteousness  which  he  oweth 
to  God  and  man ;  promising  life  upon  the  fulfilling,  and  threaten- 
ing death  upon  the  breach  of  it."* 

"God  gave  to  Adam  a  law,  as  a  covenant  of  works,  by  which 
he  bound  him,  and  all  his  posterity,  to  personal,  entire,  exact  and 
perpetual  obedience;  promised  life  upon  the  fulfilling,  and 
threatened  death  upon  the  breach  of  it;  and  endued  him  with 
power  and  ability  to  keep  it. 

"This  law  after  his  fall  continued  to  be  a  perfect  rule  of  right- 
eousness ;  and  as  such  was  delivered  by  God  upon  Mount  Sinai, 
in  ten  commandments. "f 

"God  in  six  days  made  all  things  of  .nothing,  very  good  in 
their  own  kind  :  in  special  he  made  all  the  angels  holy :  and  he 
made  our  first  parents,  Adam  and  Eve,  the  root  of  mankind, 
both  upright,  and  able  to  keep  the  law  written  \A  their  heart : 
Which  law  they  were  naturally  bound  to  obey  under  pain  of 
death;  but  God  was  not  bound  to  reward  their  service,  till  he 
entered  into  a  covenant  or  contract  with  them,  and  their  pos- 
terity in  them,  to  give  them  eternal  life  upon  condition  of  per- 
fect personal  obedience,  withal  threatening  death  in  case  they 
should  fail.     This  is  the  covenant  of  works."| 

*  Larger  Catechism,  Questions  92,  93. 

•J-  Westminster  Confession,  Chap.  xix.  \\  1,  2. 

|  Westminster  Assembly's  Brief  Sum  of  Christian  Doctrine.     Head  i.  \  2. 


288  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  ix. 

On  these  places,  two  or  three  points  are  to  be  observed.  1.  In 
the  quotation  from  the  Larger  Catechism,  the  law,  under  which 
our  first  parents  were  placed  at  their  creation,  is  divided  into 
two  elements, — the  "special  command  not  to  eat  of  the  fruit  of 
the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,"  and  "the  moral 
law."  The  moral  law,  thus  carefully  distinguished  from  the 
positive  precept,  is  then  described  in  covenant  terms,  as  "pro- 
mising life  upon  the  fulfilling  of  it."  2.  In  the  Brief  Sum,  the 
moral  law  is  said  to  have  been  "written  in  the  heart"  of  our 
first  parents.  3.  The  law  is  there  logically  distinguished  from 
the  covenant  of  works,  and  described  as  in  the  order  of  nature 
antecedent  to  it, — which  it  is ; — the  one  being  of  necessary  obli- 
gation, the  other  of  gratuitous  bestowment.  4.  In  the  place 
quoted  from  the  Confession,  the  law  is  expressly  stated  to  have 
been  given  "as  a  covenant  of  works."  Here,  the  same  logical 
distinction  and  order  of  nature  are  observed;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  the  dates  of  the  two  transactions  are  identified.  If  the 
law  was  "given  as  a  covenant  of  works,"  evidently  Adam  was 
no  sooner  under  law  than  he  was  in  covenant.  5.  The  provision 
respecting  the  tree  is  distinctly  described  as  preceptive ;  is  never 
spoken  of  as  covenant ;  and  is  specially  distinguished  from  that 
which  is  described  as  the  covenant.  6.  The  design  of  the  As- 
sembly is  yet  more  clearly  indicated,  if  possible,  by  their  appeal 
for  proof  to  that  large  class  of  scriptures  which  speak  of  the 
law  as  essentially  promissory  in  its  nature.  To  these  we  shall 
presently  turn. 

The  standard  theologians  are  unanimous  in  concurrence  with 
the  Assembly^.  Thus,  says  Turrettin,  "The  covenant  of  nature 
is  that  which  God  the  Creator  made  with  innocent  man  as  his 
creature,  concerning  his  happiness  and  endowment  with  life 
eternal,  upon  condition  of  perfect  personal  obedience.  It  is 
called  natural,  not  on  account  of  a  natural  obligation, — which 
God  cannot  owe  to  man ; — but  because  it  was  implanted  in  the 
nature  of  man  as  he  was  at  first  made  by  God,  and  in  his  in- 
tegrity or  unbroken  strength."* 

*  Turrettin.  Theol.,  Locus  viii.  Quaest.  iii.  \  5.  To  the  same  purpose,  see  Van 
Mastricht,  at  the  head  of  this  chapter. 


sect,  in.]  The  Laic  a  Covenant  of  Life.  289 

The  Scriptures  are  full  and  conclusive,  everywhere,  to  the 
effect  that  a  promise  of  life  was  an  element  incorporated  essen- 
tially in  the  moral  law.  Thus  Paul  says,  "  To  him  that  worketh 
is  the  reward  not  reckoned  of  grace,  but  of  debt." — Rom.  iv.  4. 
And  again,  "  The  law  is  not  of  faith,  but  the  man  that  doeth 
them  shall  live  in  them." — Gal.  iii.  12.  The  same  thing  is  inti- 
mated in  Rom.  viii.  3 : — "  For  what  the  law  could  not  do  in  that 
it  was  weak  through  the  flesh,  God  sending  his  own  Son  in  the 
likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  and  for  sin,  condemned  sin  in  the  flesh." 
This  language  intimates,  that  the  reason  why  eternal  life  is  not 
now  conferred  by  the  law,  is,  that  man's  native  corruption  and 
infirmity  of  flesh  preclude  perfect  obedience.  It  would  be 
wearisome  to  recite  the  many  passages  of  the  Scriptures,  both  in 
the  Old  and  the  New  Testament,  to  the  same  effect.  In  fact,  the 
language  already  quoted  from  Paul — "  The  man  that  doeth  them 
shall  live  in  them" — constitutes  a  formula  which  occurs  con- 
tinually, as  the  expression  of  the  essentially  promissory  character 
of  the  law,  as  given  to  man.  See  Lev.  xviii.  5 ;  Neh.  ix.  29 ; 
Ezek.  xx.  11,  13,  21;  and  Rom.  x.  5.  When  the  lawyer  came  to 
Jesus,  tempting  him,  and  inquiring  what  he  must  do  to  inherit 
eternal  life,  the  reply  of  our  Saviour  distinctly  affirms  the  same 
thing  : — "  What  is  written  in  the  law  ?  How  readest  thou  ? 
And  he,  answering,  said,  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy 
strength,  and  with  all  thy  mind;  and  thy  neighbour  as  thyself. 
And  he  said  unto  him,  Thou  hast  answered  right :  This  do,  and 
thou  shalt  live." — Luke  x.  26-28.  Similar  was  his  answer  to 
the  young  man : — "  If  thou  wilt  enter  into  life,  keep  the  command- 
ments."— Matt.  xix.  17.  We  surely  need  not  any  further  insist  on 
the  fact,  that  a  promise  thus  constantly  stated  as  an  element  in 
the  moral  law,  must  have  been  co-existent  with  the  law  itself, — 
inscribed  with  it  on  the  heart  of  Adam  in  his  creation. 

The  fact  thus  ascertained,  is  evinced  with  equal  clearness  by 
the  indelible  impress  of  the  promise,  now  remaining  on  the  hearts 
of  all  men.  Wherever  is  found  the  blood  of  Adam's  race,  there 
are  exhibited  the  lines  of  the  law,  written  on  the  heart  itself,  in 
the  very  terms  stated  by  Paul : — "  The  man  that  doeth  them  shall 

19 


290  The  Eloltim  Revealed.  [chap.  ix. 

live  in  them."  It  is  this  law  with  its  promise  surviving  the 
wreck  of  the  fall,  which  induces  such  persistent  though  hopeless 
efforts  on  the  part  of  men,  to  purchase  salvation  by  deeds  of 
merit.  Indelibly  as  the  law  in  its  penal  terrors  is  engraven, 
its  testimony  is  no  more  clear  than  is  that  which  announces  a 
promise,  which  was  once  addressed  to  an  ability  equal  to  its  de- 
mands ;  but  now  only  serves  to  discover  to  men  their  weakness 
and  ruin,  by  the  unavailing  struggles  after  a  legal  righteousness, 
in  which  it  engages  them.  To  this  Paul  alludes  in  Kom.  ii.  13- 
15  : — "  Not  the  hearers  of  the  law  are  just  before  God,  but  the 
doers  of  the  law  shall  be  justified.  For  when  the  Gentiles,  which 
have  not  the  law,  do  by  nature  the  things  contained  in  the  law, 
these,  having  not  the  law,  are  a  law  unto  themselves:  which 
shew  the  work  of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts,  their  con- 
science also  bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts  the  meanwhile 
accusing  or  else  excusing  one  another." 

But  another  fact,  of  great  importance  in  itself,  and  conclusive 
on  the  present  subject,  is  the  purchase  of  salvation  by  Jesus 
Christ,  under  the  terms  of  this  very  law,  promising  life  to  obe- 
dience. "  What  the  law  could  not  do  in  that  it  was  weak  through 
the  flesh,  God  sending  his  own  Son  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh, 
and  for  sin,  condemned  sin  in  the  flesh." — B,om.  viii.  3.  "  He 
was  made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,  that  he  might  re- 
deem them  that  were  under  the  law." — Gal.  iv.  4,  5.  "  Whom 
God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation,  through  faith  in  his 
blood,  to  declare  his  righteousness,  for  the  remission  of  sins  that 
are  past,  through  the  forbearance  of  God;  to  declare  at  this 
time  his  righteousness,  that  he  might  be  just,  and  the  justifier  of 
him  which  believeth  in  Jesus." — Eom.  iii.  25,  26.  This  subject 
will,  however,  be  more  fully  presented  hereafter. 

It  is,  therefore,  certain,  that  the  promise  of  life  did  not  origi- 
nate in  the  positive  precept  concerning  the  tree  of  knowledge, 
but  in  the  creative  inscription  on  the  heart  of  Adam.  And 
hence  it  is,  that  in  the  narrative  relating  to  the  trees  of  the 
garden,  the  promise  is  not  specified  in  terms,  but  is  there  only 
presupposed  and  implied,  as  it  is  in  all  the  other  providential 
arrangements  for  Adam. 


sect,  in.]  The  Laic  a  Covenant  of  Life.  291 

The  conclusion  thus  attained  is  demanded  by  the  very  office 
which  is  assigned  to  the  law,  and  the  nature  of  the  whole 
system,  of  which  it  constituted  a  fundamental  and  pervasive 
part.  The  design  of  the  system  is,  the  revelation  of  the  glory 
of  God.  The  office  of  the  law  is,  the  announcement  and  illus- 
tration of  the  moral  perfections  of  the  Lawgiver.  The  sum 
of  its  precepts  is,  love.  The  God  whom  it  proclaims  is  Love. 
The  reason  by  which  its  precepts  are  enforced  is,  the  love 
of  God, — the  beauty  of  that  holiness,  of  which,  love,  is  the 
other  name.  Sovereign  justice  vindicates  itself,  in  the  penal 
terrors,  which  it  arrays  against  transgression.  And  can  it  be 
imagined  that  this  will  be  the  only  sanction  to  such  a  law? 
Shall  the  gracious  Lawgiver  proclaim  the  fearfulness  of  his  in- 
dignation, and  the  terrible  majesty  of  his  consuming  vengeance, 
against  his  enemies; — and,  yet,  shall  love  have  no  pledge  of 
grace,  to  his  obedient  people?  Shall  the  law,  which  declares 
his  love,  convey  to  his  creatures  no  experience  of  its  embrace  ? 
Certainly,  no  promise  was  due  to  the  creatures,  as  of  right. 
But  a  law,  however  holy  just  and  good  in  its  provisions,  the 
only  sanctions  of  which  had  been  terrors,  would  have  been 
wanting  in  an  essential  element,  to  constitute  it  a  true  and  fitting 
revelation  of  the  character  of  Him  who  has  become  the  God  of 
our  salvation.  If  goodness  is  seen  anywhere,  then  must  it,  with 
especial  radiance,  shine  in  that  eternal  law,  upon  the  deep  and 
abiding  foundations  of  which  were  laid  the  provisions  of  that 
primeval  covenant,  wherein,  on  man's  behalf,  Righteousness  and 
Peace  kissed  each  other  in  the  midst  of  the  eternal  throne.  If 
God  delights  in  his  righteousness  and  justice,  and  proclaims  them 
in  the  terrors  of  the  curse,  he  has  equal  pleasure  in  his  love, 
and  delight  in  the  exercise  of  condescending  goodness  toward 
the  works  of  his  hands.  And,  in  setting  forth  the  laws  of  his 
kingdom,  as  he  has  incorporated  the  penal  sanction  with  the 
law,  for  an  attestation  to  his  holiness,  against  transgressors;  so 
has  he  inscribed  the  pledges  of  the  covenant,  in  an  identity  as 
intimate;  attesting  his  love  and  grace  to  the  obedient.  And  it 
is  a  striking  illustration  of  the  nature  and  design  of  all  these  pro- 
visions,— that,  whilst  the  law  abideth  forever,  and  the  promises 


292  The  EJoIiim  Revealed.  [chap.  ix. 

of  the  covenant  will  survive  even  the  ruin  of  the  fall,  and  be 
possessed  forever  in  heaven, — the  penal  threatening  does  not 
thus  survive;  but,  with  the  lost  enemies  of  God,  cast  out,  its 
authority  and  dominion  will  exist  only  in  hell.  The  law  that 
rules  heaven's  blessed  inhabitants  will  know  no  sanction  of 
wrath; — it  will  proclaim  no  alternative  of  terror.  Its  only  ar- 
gument— as,  its  only  precept — is,  love.  Its  only  sanction  is 
the  promise. 

In  full  accordance  with  the  views  here  presented,  is  the  fact, 
that  we  have  no  example  of  the  promulgation  of  the  law  from 
God,  even  to  fallen  man,  nor  reason  to  believe  that  it  has  ever 
occurred  in  any  case  in  the  universe,  in  which  the  precepts  were 
not  accompanied  with  gratuitous  promises,  superadded  to  the 
preceptive  and  penal  provisions. 

It  now  becomes  necessary  to  consider  more  particularly  what 
was  the  meaning  of  the  introduction  of  the  trees  of  life,  and  of 
g4.  The  trees  knowledge,  and  the  provisions  respecting  them; — 
of  life  and  and  what  relation  they  bore  to  the  law  and  promise. 
of  now  e  ge.  ^  The  reservation  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  con- 
stituted a  most  gracious  and  significant  definition  of  the  extent  and 
entireness  of  the  sovereignty  conferred  upon  Adam,  over  the  earth 
and  all  that  was  in  it.  Had  the  inaugural  decree  been  in  gene- 
ral terms, — "Let  him  have  dominion  over  all  the  earth," — there 
would  have  been  room  to  question  whether  very  extensive  limi- 
tations were  not  intended, — whether  large  reservations  were 
not  implied  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case.  But  when  a  specific 
exception  is  formally  made  in  the  very  deed  of  gift  itself,  the 
inference  is  hence  justly  deduced,  that  the  defined  exception  is 
exclusive  of  all  others.  The  same  propriety  which  induced  the 
specification  of  the  one,  would  have  caused  others  to  be  named, 
had  they  existed.  Hence,  the  prohibition  of  the  fruit  of  the 
one  tree  was  a  confirmation  and  seal  to  the  bestowment  of  all 
things  beside. 

2.  The  prohibition  was  a  becoming  and  signal  indication  of 
the  Maker's  reservation  to  himself  of  the  eminent  domain  of 
earth  and  the  creatures.  Having  given  to  man  a  dominion  ab- 
solute and  universal  "over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl 


sect,  in.]  The  Law  a  Covenant  of  Life.  293 

of  the  air,  and  over  the  cattle,  and  over  all  the  earth,  and  over 
every  creeping  thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth;"  over  "every 
herb  bearing  seed,  which  is  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth,  and 
every  tree,  in  the  which  is  the  fruit  of  a  tree,  yielding  seed;" 
man  was  admonished,  by  the  reservation  of  a  single  tree,  insig- 
nificant and  valueless  in  itself,  that  the  ultimate  supremacy  still 
belonged  to  God, — that  all  his  large  possessions  were  merely 
loaned  to  him  by  his  Creator's  goodness,  and  subject  to  be  re- 
called at  his  pleasure;  and  hence  that  all  were  to  be  held  under 
homage  to  the  Giver,  and  in  subordination  to  his  glory. 

3.  It  served  as  a  test  of  man's  obedience,  simple,  infallible, 
and  easily  appreciated  by  the  intelligent  creatures.  The  ques^ 
tion  is  sometimes  asked, — Why  all  the  tremendous  interests  of 
heaven  and  hell  were  staked  on  so  trivial  a  matter  as  the  eating 
of  the  forbidden  fruit?  The  point  to  be  determined  was, 
whether  man  would  in  unwavering  rectitude  hold  to  the  great 
end  for  which  he  was  made, — whether  he  would  cheerfully  and 
perseveringly  bow  with  implicit  deference  to  the  sovereignty, 
and  do  the  will,  of  his  Maker.  The  object  of  the  test  is,  not 
the  satisfaction  of  Him  who,  searching  Adam's  inmost  heart, 
could  there  without  experiment  detect  the  first  emotions  of  re- 
bellion; but,  —  the  declaration  of  His  glory  and  vindication  of 
His  dealings  with  man,  to  man  and  the  witnessing  intelligences 
of  heaven.  For  such  a  purpose,  any  positive  precept  will  serve ; 
and  the  simplest  requirement,  the  most  insignificant  limitation, 
better  than  any  other;  because  it  presents  the  least  temptation 
to  transgression,  and  leaves  the  simple  issue  of  obedience  un- 
burdened by  any  complex  questions  or  relations. 

Still  further,  the  test  employed  was  an  infallible  one.  The 
inquiry  is  sometimes  made, — What  if  Adam  had  not  eaten  the 
fruit,  but  had  sinned  in  some  other  way  ?  The  supposition  is 
an  impossible  one.  Such  is  the  constitution  of  the  human 
heart,  that  it  necessarily  and  instantaneously  assails  any  badge 
of  a  rejected  sovereignty.  It  were  as  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
the  galley-slave  who  has  toiled  in  chains,  should  continue  to  wear 
the  badges  of  his  slavery,  retaining  on  his  neck  and  limbs  the' 
collar  and  manacles  engraven  with  the  name  of  the  master  whom 


294:  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  ix. 

lie  has  murdered,  and  tokens  of  the  tyranny  from  which  he  has 
fled ;  as  to  suppose  that  Adam  should  have  cast  off  his  allegiance 
to  God,  and  yet  have  failed  to  assert  the  liberty  which  he  thus  as- 
sumed, by  trampling  on  the  seal  of  obedience.  Why  is  it,  that,  in 
every  insurrection  against  human  governments,  the  first  attack  is 
against  the  insignia  of  the  government  which  they  seek  to  over- 
throw ?  Why  was  it,  that,  when  the  boys  of  the  Polytechnic 
School  rushed  forth,  and  threw  themselves  into  the  midst  of  the 
insurgent  population  of  Paris,  their  first  act  was  to  tear  from 
their  caps  and  shoulders  the  badges  of  their  allegiance  to  the 
king?  Why  do  the  revolutionists  so  eagerly  assail  and  destroy 
the  statues  of  the  monarchy,  the  gorgeous  furniture  of  the  pa- 
lace, the  canopied  throne  of  the  sovereign,  and  even  the  very 
tombs  of  his  ancestors?  It  is  the  development  of  a  principle, 
which,  if  not  essential  in  the  constitution  of  rational  beings,  is 
at  least  indelibly  enstamped  on  the  nature  of  man.  Hence  it 
was,  that  our  first  parents,  once  rejecting  the  sovereignty  of 
God,  must,  by  an  inevitable  necessity  of  their  nature,  signalize 
that  act,  by  contempt  manifested  to  any  precept  whatever  which 
God  had  enjoined. 

4.  A  seal  is  a  significant  symbol,  used  for  the  purpose  of  formal 
and  public  attestation,  to  the  confirming  of  a  document  between 
parties.  Such  a  purpose  was  fulfilled  by  the  trees  of  life  and  of 
knowledge,  constituting,  as  we  have  already  seen,  seals,  the  one 
of  the  promise  of  life,  and  the  other  of  the  penalty  of  death, 
annexed  to  the  moral  law.  The  law  having  been  given,  accom- 
panied with  its  alternative  sanctions,  God  plants  these  trees, 
gives  them  their  names,  and  communicates  to  Adam  the  ordi- 
nances respecting  them ;  and  in  so  doing  declares,  "  These  trees 
be  witnesses  to  my  faithfulness,  and  the  unchangeable  integrity  of 
my  law.  The  tree  of  life  will  witness,  that  your  obedience  shall 
have  the  reward  of  life ;  whilst  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil,  testifies  that  transgression  shall  be  followed  with  my 
curse.  As  you  eat  of  the  one,  strengthen  yourself  in  obedience, 
by  the  hope  it  cherishes ;  and  as  you  behold  the  forbidden  fruit 
of  the  other,  beware  of  the  curse  which  it  proclaims!" 

5.  The  prohibition  respecting  the  tree  of  knowledge  was  the 


sect,  iv.]  The  Law  a  Covenant  of  Life.  295 

introduction  of  the  positive  form  of  the  covenant ;  of  which  we 
shall  speak  presently.  It  is  possible  that  some  one  may  object, 
to  what  has  been  thus  far  presented,  that,  although  the  law  is 
now  constantly  accompanied  with  the  promise  of  life,  it  was  not 
so  known  to  Adam ;  and  that  whatever  may  have  been  the  secret 
meaning  of  the  symbols  which  surrounded  him,  they  were  not  so 
understood  by  him.  In  reply,  we  ask,  Can  any  one  imagine  the 
Spirit  of  God  in  the  heart  of  unfallen  Adam  to  have  been  less 
intelligent  than  in  the  prophets  and  apostles,  his  fallen  children  ? 
Was  the  law  which  is  written  on  the  heart,  less  legible  before 
the  fall,  than  now,  even  in  the  heathen  world,  where  it  plainly 
reads,  "Do,  and  live"?  In  short,  the  objection  implies,  that 
the  pledge  of  life  on  condition  of  obedience,  was  only  given  after 
transgression  had  made  the  attainment  impossible ; — that,  whilst 
Adam  was  surrounded  with  most  significant  symbols  and  seals 
of  the  promise,  their  meaning  was  hidden  from  him,  and  the 
pledge  concealed,  knowledge  of  which  might  have  been  the 
means  of  securing  his  obedience,  and  consequent  happiness ;  and 
that  this  was  done  only  to  mock  the  imbecility  of  his  fallen  seed, 
by  the  subsequent  disclosure  to  them  of  the  hidden  meaning, 
and  announcement  of  a  blessed  alternative,  now  beyond  their 
reach ! 

Having  gained  this  point,  we  are  prepared  to  entertain  the 
question,  whether  the  transaction  between  God  and  Adam, 
2>  5  The  pro-  which  we  have  here  discussed,  constituted  a  cove- 
rage waa  a  nant.  Here,  a  clear  understanding  of  terms  is 
necessary,  in  order  to  any  satisfactory  conclusions. 
The  following  definitions  indicate  the  sense  in  accordance 
with  which  we  employ  the  specified  terms.  A  law  is  a  pre- 
cept promulgated  by  a  sovereign;  it  is  a  mandate  of  right- 
ful authority;  commonly  accompanied  by  a  penal  sanction. 
A  promise  is  a  simple  contract  made  by  one  party  with 
another.  "A  promise  is  in  the  nature  of  a  verbal  covenant; 
and  wants  nothing  but  the  solemnity  of  writing  and  sealing,  to 
make  it  absolutely  the  same."*     A  covenant  is  a  contract  be- 

*  Blackstonc,  iii.  157. 


296  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  ix. 

tween  two  parties,  by  which  one  or  each  promises  to  the  other 
to  do,  or  not  to  do,  a  specified  thing.  The  essential  character- 
istic of  a  covenant  is,  that  it  brings  one  party,  or  each,  under  a 
voluntary  obligation  to  the  other. 

In  law,  a  technical  distinction  is  made  between  a  simple  con- 
tract and  a  covenant ;  consisting  in  the  fact  that  the  former  is 
without,  and  the  latter  with,  a  seal.  "  A  covenant  is  the  agree- 
ment or  consent  of  two  or  more,  by  deed  in  writing,  sealed  and  de- 
livered, whereby  either  or  one  of  the  parties  doth  promise  the  other 
that  something  is  done  already  or  shall  be  done  afterwards."* 
"  An  executory  contract  is  an  agreement  of  two  or  more  persons, 
upon  sufficient  consideration,  to  do  or  not  to  do  a  particular  thing. 
The  agreement  is  either  under  seal,  or  not  under  seal.  If  under 
seal,  it  is  denominated  a  specialty."  "As  an  agreement,  valid 
in  law,  necessarily  requires  parties,  a  sufficient  consideration, 
and  an  object,  all  these  essential  members  of  the  definition  ought 
to  be  stated,  or  the  definition  is  imperfect.  A  sufficient  con- 
sideration is,  in  the  purview  of  the  English  law,  essential  to  the 
legal  obligation  of  a  contract ;  and  the  only  difference  between 
simple  contracts  and  specialties  is  that,  in  the  latter  case,  the 
consideration  is  presumed ;  and  so  strongly,  that  the  obligor  is 
estopped,  by  the  solemnity  of  the  instrument,  from  averring  a 
want  of  consideration,  "f 

In  divine  covenants,  there  is  generally  an  accompanying  seal. 
But  this  is  neither  essential  nor  invariable.  Thus,  the  Abra- 
hamic  covenant  was  made  when  Abram  was  seventy-five  years 
old,  (Gen.  xii.  1-4;)  and  was  expressly  declared  to  be  a  covenant 
when  he  was  not  more  than  eighty-four.  "In  the  same  day  the 
Lord  made  a  covenant  with  Abram,  saying,  Unto  thy  seed  have 
I  given  this  land." — Gen.  xv.  18.  And  yet,  it  was  not  until  the 
patriarch  was  ninety-nine  years  of  age,  that  the  seal  of  the  cove- 
nant was  instituted.  (Gen.  xvii.  1,  10.)  The  essential  matter  in 
a  covenant  is  the  mutual  stipulation ;  or,  as  defined  by  Kent, 
parties,  a  sufficient  consideration,  and  an  object. 

Of  a  covenant,  these  things  are  to  be  observed.     (1.)  As  to 

*  Terms  of  Law,  Plowd.  308;  in  Sheppard's  Touchstone,  Ch.  vii.  \  1. 
f  Kent,  Com.  450. 


sect,  v.]  The  Law  a  Covenant  of  Life.  297 

the  parties,  equality  is  not  necessary.  In  this  respect  all  that  is 
requisite  is,  that  the  parties  be  competent  to  the  responsibilities 
which,  by  the  terms  of  the  agreement,  attach  to  them  severally. 
A  parent  and  child,  a  master  and  servant,  a  sovereign  and 
subject,  may  enter  into  covenant;  provided  it  calls  for  nothing 
of  the  weaker  party  which  he  is  unable  to  perform.  It 
is  also  an  undeniable  fact  that  God  and  man  may  enter  into 
covenant.  The  Scriptures  narrate  several  examples  of  the  kind, 
which  are  by  the  Holy  Spirit  expressly  called  covenants,  and 
which  are  found,  on  examination,  to  contain  all  the  elements  of 
such  a  transaction.  The  Abrahamic  covenant  is  described  in 
the  17th  chapter  of  Genesis ;  the  covenant  of  Sinai,  in  Ex.  xxxiv. 
27 ;  and  the  covenant  with  David,  celebrated  in  the  lxxxixth  and 
other  Psalms.  (2.)  It  is  not  necessary  to  the  creation  of  a  cove- 
nant that  both  parties  be  in  every  instance  active  in  its  forma- 
tion. If  the  silent  party  is,  by  the  terms  of  the  contract, 
brought  under  obligation  for  the  performance  of  any  thing  not 
already  due,  his  express  consent  is  requisite.  But,  if  the  obli- 
gation already  rests  on  him,  the  covenant  may  take  effect,  even 
though  he  be  inactive  or  hostile.  Thus  God,  by  Moses,  declares 
to  Israel,  "  Neither  with  you  only  do  I  make  this  covenant  and 
this  oath,  but  with  him  that  standeth  here  with  us  this  day 
before  the  Lord  our  God,  and  also  with  him  that  is  not  here 
with  us  this  day.  .  .  .  Lest  there  be  among  you  man,  or  woman, 
or  family,  or  tribe,  whose  heart  turneth  away  this  day  from  the 
Lord  our  God.  .  .  .  The  Lord  will  not  spare  him." — Deut.  xxix. 
14-20.  (3.)  The  condition  of  the  agreement  must  be  a  valuable 
consideration.  It  may  be  a  duty  of  native  and  essential  obli- 
gation; as,  when  a  parent  agrees  with  his  son,  "If  you  will 
take  care  of  me  in  my  old  age,  you  shall  have  such  a  share  of 
my  estate."  It  may  be  a  lawful  precept,  made  by  a  rightful 
authority.  Or  it  may  be  something  altogether  new,  and  dis- 
cretionary with  the  party  to  whom  it  is  proposed.  In  the  latter 
case,  as  already  stated,  express  consent  is  requisite.  In  the  two 
former,  it  is  not;  for  the  reason  that  the  party  has  no  right  to 
refuse  acquiescence,  and  hence  justice  and  the  common  sense  of 
mankind  concur  in  presuming  it  of  him  and  holding  him  right- 


298  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  ix. 

fully  bound  by  obligations  to  which  it  was  his  duty  to  have  cor- 
dially consented.  He  may  not  plead  his  own  wrongful  declina- 
ture in  bar  of  the  responsibilities  which  he  ought  cheerfully  to 
have  assumed. 

To  apply  these  principles  to  the  case  before  us.  Here  are  two 
parties, — God,  "the  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  him," 
— Heb.  xi.  6;  and  Adam, — fully  competent,  severally,  to  the 
several  obligations  which  are  prescribed  in  the  transaction.  Here 
is  man's  perfect  obedience,  which  God  graciously  condescends 
to  accept  as  a  valuable  consideration,  although  in  no  way  profit- 
able to  Him.  This  condition  is  a  duty  of  necessary  and  inde- 
feasible obligation ;  in  regard  to  which,  therefore,  Adam's  ac- 
quiescence was  not  essential,  although  it  was  undoubtedly  given. 
Here  is  eternal  life,  the  object  proposed  to  man,  to  be  obtained 
upon  the  condition  of  his  obedience.  All  these,  the  essential 
elements  in  the  covenant,  belonged  to  its  original  and  native 
constitution,  as  written  on  Adam's  heart  in  his  creation.  To 
them,  add  the  seals  which  were  afterward  given  in  the  trees  of 
life  and  of  knowledge.  Thus  have  we  every  feature  of  the  most 
solemn  form  of  covenant  action. 

Of  the  seals,  however,  strictly  speaking,  the  tree  of  life  alone 
confirmed  the  covenant.  The  tree  of  knowledge  was  the  seal 
of  the  curse  of  the  law.  "  The  providence  of  God  toward  man 
in  the  estate  in  which  he  was  created,  was  .  .  .  entering  into  a 
covenant  of  life  with  him,  upon  condition  of  personal,  perfect 
and  perpetual  obedience,  of  which  the  tree  of  life  was  a  pledge, 
and  forbidding  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil,  upon  the  pain  of  death."* 

We  have  said  that  Adam  acquiesced  in  the  terms  of  the  cove- 
nant. That  such  was  the  case,  follows  inevitably  from  two  con- 
siderations. Those  terms  were  originally  engraved  on  Adam's 
heart  in  his  creation,  as  we  have  already  seen.  To  this,  the  as- 
sertion of  a  failure  on  his  part  to  approve  of  them  is  itself  a  con- 
tradiction in  terms.  Not  only  so,  but  the  condition  which  bound 
Adam  was  perfect  obedience.     If  Adam,  therefore,  withheld  ac- 

*  Larger  Catechism,  Question  20. 


sect,  v.]  The  Law  a  Covenant  of  Life.  299 

quiescence  in  the  covenant,  it  is  in  other  words  to  say,  that  he 
refused  to  recognise  the  duty  of  obedience  which  already  rested 
upon  him, — a  refusal  which  would  have  constituted  instant- 
aneous rebellion,  and  entirely  precluded  any  further  relations  of 
amity  with  God.  On  this  supposition,  his  first  entrance  on  the 
stage  is  in  the  attitude  of  transgression, — a  supposition  contra- 
dicted by  all  the  facts  of  the  case,  and  which  implies  him  to 
have  been  created  apostate. 

Our  conclusion  from  this  inquiry  is,  that  God  did  most 
graciously  inscribe  on  Adam's  heart  the  provisions  of  a  covenant 
which  proposed  to  him  eternal  life,  upon  condition  of  perfect  obe- 
dience to  the  divine  law;  and  afterward  sealed  the  law  and  cove- 
nant by  the  transactions  respecting  the  trees  of  life  and  know- 
ledge ;  and  that  Adam  did,  at  first  passively,  but  fully,  and  after- 
ward, upon  the  coming  in  of  the  positive  precept,  actively  and  cor- 
dially, consent  to  the  terms,  and  accept  the  promise  of  life  thus 
made.  This  transaction  is,  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  expressly  called 
a  covenant.  Hosea  vi.  7 : — "  They  like  men  (p"}»3}  like  Adam) 
have  transgressed  the  covenant." 

But,  did  we  pause  with  the  enunciation  of  the  covenant  in  this 
its  native  form,  we  should  leave  out  of  the  account  a  most  im- 
3  c  Positive  portant  element,  in  the  matter  of  our  relation  to 
constitution  of  Adam,  and  interest  in  the  covenant  as  made  with 
th»  covenant.       ^-^     ^ye  nave  seen  ^he  }aw  £0  have  been  inscribed 

on  his  heart  in  covenant  form,  constituting  the  covenant  of 
works.  That  it,  thus  laying  hold  of  his  nature,  was  not  only  a 
covenant  with  him  individually,  but  with  all  who  were  in  him, 
the  entire  race  of  man,  we  shall  show  hereafter.  Had  the  cove- 
nant continued  in  this  its  original  constitution,  without  change 
or  limitation,  the  whole  race  must  have  passed  through  a  per- 
petual probation,  each  individual  first  in  his  entire  ancestral 
line,  and  then  in  his  own  person; — a  probation  in  Adam  until  the 
birth  of  Seth,  in  him  until  the  birth  of  Enos,  and  so  on,  until 
the  occurrence  of  what  in  that  case  would  have  been  the  almost 
certain  result, — the  fall  and  ruin  of  all;  each  one  becoming 
apostate,  either  by  a  personal  act,  or  in  the  loins  of  some  an- 
cestor.    The  result  thus  pointed  out,  it  would  seem,  must  cer- 


300  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  ix. 

tainly  have  followed ;  because  the  covenant,  in  its  native  form, 
contained  no  provisions  for  the  termination  of  the  trial,  and  con- 
firmation in  holiness ;  and,  since  a  fallible  being  is  one  who  may 
fall,  the  chances  of  apostasy,  however  small  at  the  beginning, 
would,  in  the  lapse  of  eternity,  become  overwhelmingly  great. 

The  positive  transaction  respecting  the  tree  of  knowledge,  as 
we  have  seen,  did  not  introduce  the  covenant : — it  was  already 
engraven  in  Adam's  heart.  Nor  did  it,  in  the  slightest  degree, 
change  or  modify  the  terms.  These  were,  already  and  un- 
changeably, "Do,  and  live; — transgress,  and  die."  It  did  not 
constitute  Adam  our  head,  for  this  he  was,  by  the  native  con- 
stitution of  the  covenant;  as  we  shall  presently  show.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  prohibition  of  the  fruit  of  the  forbidden 
tree  did  effect  a  change  in  man's  relation  to  the  covenant,  which 
is  fundamental  to  the  whole  case,  as  it  now  stands.  It  consti- 
tutes that  provision  a  most  wonderful  display  of  the  amazing 
riches  of  God's  boundless  wisdom  and  love  to  man;  rendering  it 
pregnant  with  all  the  treasures  of  grace  and  immortality  which 
flow  to  us  from  that  same  covenant,  as  it  is  now  fulfilled  in 
Christ.  We  have  seen,  that  the  force  of  the  precept  respecting 
the  tree  of  knowledge  was,  to  limit  the  period  of  probation.  It 
reduced  the  general  provisions  of  the  covenant  to  specific  terms, 
— terms  limited  to  a  specified  act  of  obedience,  and  to  a  time 
necessarily  brief;  as  the  action  and  obedience  contemplated  in 
the  transaction  had  respect  to  a  perishing  tree,  and  a  transient 
garden  home.  Not  only  was  the  probation  limited  to  a  finite 
period,  but  to  a  period  so  brief  as  to  imply  the  close  of  proba- 
tion for  the  whole  race,  in  the  person  of  Adam,  before  the  en- 
trance of  his  posterity  upon  the  stage.  This  is  seen,  in  the  fact 
that  the  condition  was  located  in  that  garden,  which  was  en- 
closed by  God,  and  fenced  off  from  the  rest  of  the  earth,  as  the 
temporary  home  of  our  first  parents;  and  not  designed  for  their 
permanent  abode;  nor  at  all  for  that  of  their  posterity;  since 
the  world,  in  all  its  length  and  breadth,  was  given  to  them ;  and 
the  duty  laid  upon  them  of  occupying  and  subduing  it  all. — 
"  God  blessed  them,  and  God  said  unto  them,  Be  fruitful,  and 
multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth,  and  subdue  it;  and  have  do- 


sect,  vi.]  The  Law  a  Covenant  of  Life.  301 

minion  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air, 
and  over  every  living  thing  that  moveth  upon  the  earth." — Gen. 
i.  28.  "Have  dominion," — a  dominion  of  which  we  witness  the 
coronation  scene,  in  the  review  of  the  creatures,  and  bestow- 
ment  of  names  upon  them; — a  dominion,  however,  which  could 
not  be  fully  exercised  by  man,  whilst  confined  within  the  limits 
of  the  garden.  No  candid  mind  can  review  the  whole  narra- 
tive of  the  dealings  of  God  with  Adam  and  Eve,  without  being 
brought  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  Edenic  dispensation — the 
probation  attaching  to  the  tree  of  knowledge — was,  from  the 
first,  designed  to  be  exceedingly  brief, — to  be  terminated,  if 
Adam  had  continued  in  obedience,  by  a  confirmation,  rest  from 
trial,  and  entrance  on  the  reward, — the  early  occurrence  of 
which  was  aptly  shadowed,  in  the  early  coming  of  the  Sabbath, 
which  shed  its  holy  and  peaceful  light  on  the  first  evening  of 
Adam's  life.  The  effect,  and  specific  design,  of  this  limiting  of 
the  probation  to  one,  in  whom  was  comprehended  the  common 
nature  of  all,  was,  to  open  the  way  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  second  Adam,  under  the  terms  of  this  very 
covenant;  so  that,  by  virtue  of  his  personal  and  temporary  obe- 
dience, all  his  seed,  to  whom  he  imparts  his  Spirit,  and  so  unites 
them  to  himself,  are  endowed  thereby  with  a  title  in  the  merits  of 
his  finished  righteousness,  wrought  by  that  obedience ;  and,  in  the 
life,  which  was  promised  in  the  covenant,  upon  fulfilment  of  its 
terms.  The  fact,  that  the  temporary  obedience  of  the  second 
Adam  was  accepted,  as  fulfilment  of  the  terms  of  the  covenant, 
on  behalf  of  all  his  people,  is  conclusive  to  the  effect,  that  a  like 
temporary  faithfulness  on  the  part  of  the  first  Adam  would  have 
secured  eternal  life  to  all  his  posterity;  since  in  his  whole  cove- 
nant position  and  action  he  was  "  the  figure  of  him  that  was  to 
come." — Rom.  v.  14.  We  do  not,  at  present,  insist  further  on 
this  point;  because  it  is  inseparably  involved  in  all  that  has  gone 
before  and  shall  follow;  and  because  it  will  not  be  questioned  by 
any,  who  assent  to  the  evidence  presented  on  the  other  con- 
nected parts  of  the  doctrine. 

To  object,  therefore,  to  the  positive  transaction  between  God 
and  Adam,  is,  to  complain  that  God  did  not  give  us  a  myriad 


302  The  Eloliim  Revealed  [chap.  ix. 

chances  of  falling,  instead  of  one;  since  the  only  effect  of  that 
transaction  was,  to  secure  confirmation  and  eternal  life  to  man, 
upon  condition  of  Adam's  temporary  obedience;  instead  of  the 
race  being  held  to  a  perpetual  probation,  in  Adam  and  in  them- 
selves. To  complain  of  being  held  responsible  for  Adam's  sin, 
is,  to  object  to  being  held  to  obedience  at  all;  since,  in  any  case, 
Adam's  sin  was  our  sin ;  the  forces  which  are  in  us, — the  nature 
which  we  inherit  from  him,  is  the  very  nature  which,  in  him, 
rebelled; — the  same,  not  in  kind,  merely, — but,  as  flowing  con- 
tinuously from  him  to  us. 

The  nature  of  the  life  promised,  remains  to  be  considered. 
Death,  the  penalty  of  the  law,  we  have  seen  to  have  signified, 
I  7.  The  u/e  the  wrath  of  God  exercised  against  sin.  Correla- 
promised.  tive  to  this  is  the  meaning  of  the  word,  life,  as  used 
to  express  the  promise  of  the  covenant.  The  idea  designed  by 
it,  is  not  that  of  continued  existence,  merely;  nor,  in  fact,  has 
it,  otherwise  than  by  implication,  reference  to  the  continuance 
of  existence,  at  all ;  but,  to  the  favour  of  God,  and  the  happiness 
which  it  must  convey  to  the  creature  on  whom  he  smiles.  This 
was  the  meaning  of  the  word,  and  the  essential  matter  of  the 
covenant,  as  addressed  to  Adam.  So  the  Psalmist  declares,  "In 
his  favour  is  life."— Psalm  xxx.  5.  Hence  the  language  of  our 
Saviour: — "This  is  life  eternal;  that  they  might  know  thee,  the 
only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou  hast  sent." — John 
xvii.  3.  The  same  definition  is  illustrated,  by  the  contrast 
stated  by  John  the  Baptist : — "  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son 
hath  everlasting  life ;  and  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son  shall 
not  see  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him." — John  iii. 
36.  As  the  elements  which  appear  in  the  infliction  of  the  penal 
sanction  of  the  law  differ  according  to  the  variety  of  the  natures 
that  suffer;  so,  on  the  other  hand,  the  favour  of  God,  which  is 
expressed  by  the  one  word,  life,  develops,  in  its  action,  elements 
of  happiness,  differing  according  to  the  diversity  of  the  na- 
tures in  which  it  is  realized.  The  life,  or  blessedness,  enjoyed 
by  the  angelic  hosts  under  the  smile  of  their  Creator,  varies  thus 
circumstantially  from  that  which  would  have  been  realized  by 
man  in  continued  innocency;   this,  again,  differs  from  that  to 


sect,  vi.]  Tlie  Law  a  Covenant  of  Life.  303 

which  redeemed  men  are  called;  and  none  of  these  is  altogether 
similar  to  that  of  the  incarnate  Word,  who  says  of  himself,  "  As 
the  Father  hath  life  in  himself,  so  hath  he  given  to  the  Son  to 
have  life  in  himself." — John  v.  26. 

The  promise  secured  the  continual  smile  of  God,  resting  upon 
and  prospering  Adam,  in  body  and  soul,  in  his  labours  and  enjoy- 
ments, in  his  possessions  and  pursuits,  in  his  person,  his  family, 
and  his  race ;  in  time,  till  the  close  of  his  probation ;  and  more 
richly  still  in  a  blessed  eternity,  where,  confirmed  in  holiness, 
and  translated  from  earth,  he  should  possess  the  unspeakable 
joys  of  God's  presence  forever.  Hedged  in  by  God's  favour,  he 
would  have  been  free  alike  from  evil  or  alarm.  "Whilst  every 
enjoyment  had  been  complete,  and  every  pleasure  perfect,  no 
sorrow  had  occurred,  to  mar  his  satisfaction,  nor  anxiety,  to 
moderate  it.  In  short,  the  promise  secured  to  him  the  omni- 
potent favour  of  his  Creator,  resting  upon  and  blessing  him,  in 
every  element  of  his  being,  and  all  the  compass  and  eternal  con- 
tinuance of  his  existence. 

To  Adam's  body,  the  favour  of  God,  pledged  in  the  covenant, 
secured  the  enjoyment  of  perfect  and  perpetual  health,  unalloyed 
by  sickness  or  pain,  and  unexposed  to  accident, — the  perfection 
of  all  his  members  and  of  the  exercise  of  all  his  senses,  adapted 
and  attuned,  as  they  were,  to  appreciate  and  enjoy  the  harmonies 
of  surrounding  nature,  as  it  smiled  in  the  light  of  God's  favour, — 
the  elasticity  and  the  zest  of  unfailing  youth, — unwearying 
vigour,  exempt  from  the  exhaustion  of  toil,  and  the  debility  of 
hunger, — and  at  length,  without  dissolution  or  return  to  dust, 
transformation  and  immortality  in  heaven. 

To  his  mind,  it  pledged  unerring  knowledge  of  all  that  was 
requisite,  either  for  the  performance  of  his  duties,  the  enjoyment 
of  God's  blessings,  or  preparation  for  the  higher  employments 
and  more  exalted  joys  of  heaven, — perfect  freedom  from  aberra- 
tion or  obscurity, — continual  growth  of  all  his  capacities  in  their 
exercise, — and  entire  freedom  from  those  apprehensions  and 
alarms,  that  disquietude  and  disappointment,  and  those  multi- 
plied sources  of  mental  affliction,  which  the  curse  has  infused 
into  the  cup  of  life. 


304  The  FAoliim  Revealed.  [chap.  ix. 

But  especially  did  the  covenant  seal  all  spiritual  blessings  to 
Adam.  This  involved  the  perpetual  vigour  and  continual 
growth  of  all  the  features  of  God's  image  in  his  soul, — free  and 
unreserved  communion  with  his  condescending  and  beneficent 
Creator, — and  final  confirmation  in  holiness,  termination  of  the 
state  of  trial,  and  translation  to  a  higher  sphere, — to  life  in 
heaven, — to  that  mansion,  of  which  it  is  written,  "  In  thy  pre- 
sence is  fulness  of  joy;  at  thy  right  hand  there  are  pleasures  for 
evermore." — Psalm  xvi.  11. 


CHAPTER  X. 

ADAM  THE  COVENANT  HEAD  OF  THE  RACE. 

Thus  far  we  have  viewed  Adam  as  an  individual,  personally 
the  object  of  God's  creative  and  providential  power  and  care, 
3 1  Proof  of  sustaining  to  his  Maker  relations  of  peculiar  pri- 
Adam'shead-  vilege  and  responsibility,  by  gift  and  covenant. 
s7l'P-  But,  did  we  stop  here,  we  should  have  exceedingly 

inadequate  conceptions  of  his  real  position,  in  transacting  with 
God;  and  of  the  true  extent  of  the  responsibilities  which  he 
sustained,  and  the  ruin  which  he  incurred  by  his  sin.  In 
creating,  his  Maker  endowed  him  with  a  prolific  constitution  ; 
and  in  the  blessing  pronounced  upon  him  at  his  creation,  prior 
to  any  of  the  external  actions  by  which  the  covenant  of  nature 
was  formally  sealed,  he  was  ordained  to  multiply, — to  become, 
of  one,  the  myriads  of  the  human  race.  In  all  God's  dealings 
with  him,  he  is  regarded  in  this  light,  as  the  root  and  father  of 
a  race  who  should  proceed  from  him.  They,  by  virtue  of  this 
derivative  relation  to  him,  were  contemplated  by  God,  as,  in  him 
their  head,  parties  in  all  the  transactions  which  had  respect  to 
the  covenant.  Thus,  they  sinned  in  his  sin;  fell  in  his  apostasy; 
were  depraved  in  his  corruption;  and  in  him  became  children 
of  Satan  and  of  the  wrath  of  God. 

By  the  phrase,  covenant  head,  we  do  not  mean  that  Adam  was 
by  covenant  made  head  of  the  race ;  but  that,  being  its  head,  by 
virtue  of  the  nature  with  which  God  had  endowed  him,  he  stood 
as  such  in  the  covenant.  Adam  sustained  in  his  person  two 
distinct  characters,  the  demarcation  of  which  must  be  carefully 
observed,  if  we  would  attain  to  any  just  conclusions,  as  to  the 
relation  he  held  toward  us,  and  the  effects  upon  us  of  his  actions. 
First,  in  him  was  a  nature  of  a  specific  character,  the  common 

20  305 


306  The  EloJtim  Revealed.  [chap.  x. 

endowment  of  the  human  race;  and  transmissible  to  them,  by 
propagation,  with  their  being.  Again,  he  was  an  individual 
person,  endowed  with  the  nature  thus  bestowed  on  him  in  com- 
mon with  his  posterity.  Personal  actions,  and  relations  of  his, 
which  did  not  affect  his  nature,  were  peculiar  to  him  as  a  private 
person.  But  such  as  affected  his  nature,  with  him,  and  to  the 
same  extent,  involved  all  those  to  whom  that  nature  was  given, 
in  its  bestowal  on  him.  He  was  endowed,  as  we  have  seen,  with 
knowledge,  righteousness  and  holiness ;  and  with  a  liberty  of 
will,  which,  whilst  fully  competent  to  stand  in  untarnished  and 
perpetual  holiness  and  rectitude,  was  free  and  unrestricted  in 
the  power  of  apostatizing  from  God,  and  embracing  sin  instead 
of  holiness.  Any  exertion  of  his  will  or  powers,  the  effect  of 
which  had  been  to  strengthen  holy  principles  within  him,  affect- 
ing as  it  would  his  nature,  would  have  been  imputed  to  those 
who  in  him  were  partakers  in  his  native  holiness.  Any  act  of 
his  will,  or  exertion  of  any  of  the  powers  of  his  being,  the  ten- 
dency of  which  had  been  to  weaken  those  principles  in  his 
nature,  would  have  been  in  like  manner  imputed.  On  the  con- 
trary, actions  which  bore  no  relation  to  such  effects  as  these, 
were  personal  to  the  actor,  and  not  imputed  to  others.  To  the 
former  class  belonged  acts  of  obedience  to  God,  such  as  tilling 
the  ground,  observing  the  Sabbath,  and  worshipping  God, — 
acts,  which,  by  the  force  of  habit,  gave  increasing  strength  to 
the  holy  nature  in  which  he  was  created; — or  any  want  of 
watchfulness  in  view  of  the  dangers  which  were  at  hand,  or 
failure  to  seek  divine  strength  to  uphold  him  in  integrity.  To 
the  latter  class  of  actions  pertained  such  as  partaking  of  food, 
and  indulging  in  nightly  slumber, — acts  which  had  no  special 
moral  character,  and  exerted  no  plastic  influence  on  his  nature. 
Adam  was  thus  constituted,  and  the  covenant  was  engraved 
on  his  heart  and  nature,  as  he  was  a  propagative  being,  the 
father  of  the  race.  As  thus  engraved,  it  is  actually  transmitted 
to  us,  although  the  transgression  has  abrogated  its  power  as  a 
covenant  of  life.  It  follows  inevitably,  from  these  facts,  that  it 
was  given  to  Adam,  not  only  for  himself,  but  for  his  posterity, — ■ 
that  he  was  in  it  their  representative;  receiving  the  covenant 


sect,  i.]      Adam  the  Covenant  Head  of  tlw  Race.  307 

for  tliem;  and  acting  under  it  on  their  behalf,  as  well  as  on  his 
own. 

In  all  God's  other  dealings  with  Adam  he  is  looked  upon  and 
addressed,  not  as  an  individual  merely,  but  as  representing  in 
his  person  all  men.  So  it  was  in  his  endowment  with  God's 
image,  and  with  the  name,  "Adam," — a  name  not  only  proper 
to  his  person,  but  in  the  Bible  constantly  recognised  and  used  as 
the  generic  name  of  the  race.  So  that,  in. fact,  when  we  say 
that  God  made  a  covenant  with  Adam,  it  is  equivalent,  by  the 
very  force  of  the  terms,  to  saying,  that  the  covenant  was  made 
with  the  human  race.  This  relation  of  Adam's  name,  and  the 
representative  office  in  which  he  was  originally  contemplated,  is 
indicated  very  forcibly  in  the  use  of  the  plural,  which  occurs  in 
the  decree  of  creation: — "Let  us  make  man  (Adam)  in  our 
image,  after  our  likeness;  and  let  them  have  dominion." — Gen. 
i.  26.  The  blessing, — "Be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  replenish 
the  earth,  and  subdue  it,  and  have  dominion," — which  is  in  the 
same  connection,  and  in  fulfilment  of  that  creative  decree, — in 
terms  addresses  not  him  alone,  but  in  him  all  his  seed.  It  was, 
as  multiplied,  that  they  were  to  replenish,  subdue  and  rule  the 
earth.  So,  too,  the  declaration  that  "it  is  not  good  for  man  to 
be  alone,"  and  the  institution  and  blessing  upon  marriage,  all 
contemplated  not  Adam  alone,  but  in  him  all  his  children.  To 
it  Christ  appeals,  quoting  the  law  recorded  in  Genesis  ii.  24,  as 
of  perpetual  and  universal  obligation : — "  For  this  cause  shall  a 
man  leave  father  and  mother,  and  shall  cleave  to  his  wife;  and 
they  twain  shall  be  one  flesh.  Wherefore,"  says  Christ,  "they 
are  no  more  twain,  but  one  flesh.  What  therefore  God  hath 
joined  together,  let  not  man  put  asunder." — Matt.  xix.  5,  6. 

That  the  curse,  which  was  addressed  to  Adam,  upon  occasion 
of  the  transgression,  included  all  his  seed,  is  unquestionable.  If 
it  be  viewed  in  its  more  extensive  comprehension,  as  including  the 
fierceness  of  the  wrath  and  curse  of  almighty  God,  this  is  in  opera- 
tion by  nature  against  all  the  children  of  Adam.  They  are  all  "  by 
nature  the  children  of  wrath." — Eph.  ii.  3.  If  it  be  viewed  in 
its  more  restricted  sense,  as  having  regard  to  the  positive  terms 
in  which  it  was  pronounced  upon  our  first  parents,  this  also  in- 


308  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  x. 

eludes  all  the  race.  All  Eve's  daughters  bitterly  prove  that 
not  she  only  was  meant,  when  it  was  said  to  her,  "I  will  greatly 
multiply  thy  sorrow  and  thy  conception ;  in  sorrow  thou  shalt 
bring  forth  children ;  and  thy  desire  shall  be  to  thy  husband,  and 
he  shall  rule  over  thee." — Gen.  iii.  16.  All  the  sons  of  Adam 
realize  their  interest  in  the  sad  inheritance  of  the  curse  which 
he  incurred,  in  barrenness  to  the  earth,  and  toil  and  sorrow  to 
its  possessor.  All,  too  surely,  anticipate  a  personal  experience 
of  the  dread  assurance,  "  Dust  thou  art,  and  unto  dust  shalt 
thou  return."  The  curse  of  the  violated  covenant,  thus  ad- 
dressed to  Adam,  but,  in  the  terms  so  addressed,  denouncing  all 
his  seed,  shows  conclusively  that  the  transgression  of  Adam  im- 
plicated them, — that  in  the  covenant  of  which  that  curse  was  the 
sanction,  they  were  recognised  in  his  person. 

We  are  not,  however,  left  to  mere  inference  on  this  question, 
strong  and  conclusive  as  are  its  deductions.  The  statements  of 
the  Scriptures  are  clear  and  explicit  in  respect  to  Adam's  repre- 
sentative office.     They  will  be  considered  hereafter. 

Here,  however,  it  is  necessary  to  enter  more  particularly  into 
consideration  of  the  manner  in  which  Adam  was  invested  with 
I  2.  Cause  of  the  functions  of  a  representative.  That  the  cause 
Ms  headship.  0f  that  office  was  the  will  of  God,  is  not  disputed  by 
any  who  recognise  the  office.  But  it  is  a  question  how  the 
Creator  gave  effect  to  his  will  in  this  matter.  Was  it  by  a 
positive  arrangement,  unessential  to  the  completeness  of  the  con- 
stitution of  nature,  extraneous  to  it,  and  superimposed  upon  it 
after  the  work  of  creation  was  complete  ?  Or,  did  He  so  order 
that  the  relation  between  the  representative  body  and  its 
head  should  be  an  organic  one, — a  relation  implied  in  the  very 
structure  of  Adam's  nature,  incorporated  with  the  substance  of 
his  being,  and  constituting  an  element  essential  to  the  complete- 
ness and  symmetry  of  the  whole  system,  physical,  moral  and 
spiritual  ?  By  many  orthodox  theologians  of  the  present  day,  it 
is  held,  that  the  representative  relation  of  Adam  did  not  exist, 
until  the  positive  provision  was  made  respecting  the  tree  of 
knowledge;  when  it  was  constituted  by  a  decretive  act  of  God's 
sovereignty.      We  are  constrained  to  take  the  opposite  view, 


sect,  i.]      Adam  the  Covenant  Head  of  the  Race.  309 

and  to  maintain,  with  the  older  divines,  that  the  relation  is  as 
old  as  the  first  inscription  of  the  covenant  of  nature  on  the 
heart  of  man  in  his  creation.  We  look  upon  it  as  the  essential 
element  in  the  parental  relation  as  it  subsisted  in  Adam, — the 
element  which  gives  the  family  constitution  all  its  significance. 
Purposing  to  introduce  a  system  of  representation  into  his  moral 
government,  God  gave  effect  to  that  purpose  by  the  manner  in 
which  the  parental  relation  was  constituted  between  Adam  and 
his  seed. 

Here,  it  is  necessary  to  guard  against  overlooking  the  insepa- 
rable and  essential  relation  which  Adam's  natural  headship  sus- 
tains to  his  federal  office ;  and  at  the  same  time  to  avoid  con- 
founding them  together,  in  disregard  of  the  important  distinction 
which  subsists  between  them.  There  is,  in  fact,  a  threefold  dis- 
tinction, which  it  is  needful  here  to  observe.  Adam  was  our 
natural  head,  as  he  was  the  source  of  our  being.  He  was  our 
moral  head,  as  his  nature  was  so  constituted  as  to  flow  to  us, 
not  simply  as  it  was  in  him  at  his  creation,  but  enstamped  with 
whatever  moral  attitude  he  might  occupy  at  the  time  of  the 
generation  of  his  posterity;  whether  upright  or  apostate.  He 
was  our  federal  head,  as  the  covenant  was  addressed  to,  and  en- 
stamped  upon,  his  nature,  so  as  to  endow  it  with  the  promises 
conditioned  upon  obedience,  and  to  bind  it  under  the  penalties 
in  case  of  apostasy ;  so  that  his  posterity,  in  deriving  their  being 
and  moral  nature  from  Adam,  must  receive  it  in  whatever  atti- 
tude it  occupied  toward  the  covenant  when  transmitted  from 
him. 

It  is  perfectly  conceivable  that  Adam  might  have  been  so 
made  as  to  be  the  natural  head  of  the  race,  without  being  either 
its  moral  or  federal  head.  He  might  have  been  so  constituted 
creatively,  as  to  propagate  a  posterity  possessed  of  that  image, 
natural  and  moral,  in  which  he  was  created,  irrespective  of  any 
act  of  apostasy  of  which  he  as  an  individual  might  have  been 
guilty.  Something  analogous  to  this  now  actually  takes  place  in 
the  case  of  regenerate  parents,  who,  as  natural  heads,  transmit  to 
their  offspring  a  nature,  not  renewed,  as  is  their  own,  but  apos- 
tate and  depraved,  as  received  by  them  originally.     He  might 


310  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  x. 

have  been  made  the  moral  head  of  the  race,  without  being  it3 
federal  head;  and  that  in  two  ways.  The  moral  law  might  have 
been  written  on  his  nature ;  so  that  transgression  by  him  should 
induce  a  revolution  in  that  nature,  and  involve  its  transmission, 
thus  apostate  and  under  the  curse,  to  his  seed ;  without  any  cove- 
nant provisions,  addressed  either  to  him  or  them.  This,  in 
fact,  is  the  very  thing  which  semi-Pelagians  assert  to  have  been 
the  case.  Or,  the  case  thus  supposed  might  have  been  circum- 
stantially modified,  by  the  making  of  a  covenant  personally  with 
Adam,  without  inscribing  it  on  his  nature,  and,  hence,  without 
involving  the  heirs  of  that  nature  in  its  provisions;  leaving 
them  to  a  legal  responsibility,  as  in  the  case  already  supposed. 

But  although  it  was  thus  possible  for  Adam  to  have  been 
made  merely  the  natural,  or  the  natural  and  moral,  head  of  the 
race,  without  being  its  federal  head, — the  reverse  was  impossible. 
In  order  that  he  should  be  their  federal  head,  it  was  necessary 
that  they  should  derive  from  him  both  their  being  and  the  moral 
attitude  of  their  nature.  Nor  was  it  possible  that  the  law  and 
covenant  should  have  been  engraven,  as  it  was,  in  his  propaga- 
tive  nature,  without  his  being  the  covenant  head  of  the  race. 
In  fact,  that  inscription  constituted  his  inauguration  into  that 
office.  The  phrase,  natural  headship,  is  sometimes  used,  by  way 
of  contrast  or  opposition  to  federal  headship ;  as  inclusive  of 
every  thing  not  involved  in  the  latter  term, — expressing  the 
derivation,  from  Adam,  of  being  and  moral  nature. 

It  will  be  remembered  that,  in  this  view,  we  do  not  ignore 
the  positive  transaction  respecting  the  forbidden  tree ;  nor  fail 
to  appreciate  its  importance.  Of  it  we  have  spoken,  as  consti- 
tuting a  most  signal  and  essential  element  in  the  whole  matter 
of  Adam's  position  before  God ;  and  our  relation  to  that  position. 
It  was  a  provision  of  the  purest  grace,  consisting  in  a  limitation 
of  the  responsibilities  of  man,  and  a  reduction  of  the  probation, 
from  being  perpetual,  to  the  brief  period  in  which  Adam  should 
have  been  alone  in  the  garden,  prior  to  the  birth  of  any  of  his 
sons.  The  point  upon  which  we  here  insist  is,  that  in  the  purely 
sovereign  and  gratuitous  provisions  made  by  God  in  respect  to 
the  forbidden  tree,  neither  Adam  nor  his  sons  were  subjected  to 


sect,  ii.]     Adam  the  Covenant  Head  of  the  Race.  311 

any  new  obligations,  nor  involved  in  any  responsibility  not 
already  by  nature  resting  upon  them.  It  was  a  limitation  and 
reduction,  and  not  an  extension  of  our  native  responsibilities,  as 
in  covenant  with  God.  We  are  not  held  accountable  for  Adam's 
breach  of  the  covenant,  in  consequence  of  the  transaction  re- 
specting the  tree ;  but  because  of  the  inscription  of  the  covenant 
in  Adam's  nature,  and  our  in-being  in  him,  in  whose  nature  it 
was  inscribed.  So  far  as  this  point  is  concerned,  no  other  effect 
results  to  us  from  the  positive  constitution,  than  this : — that,  by 
it,  God  engaged  to  accept  the  temporary  obedience  of  one,  in 
whom  the  nature  of  all  was  embraced ;  and,  upon  condition  of 
that  obedience,  to  grant  to  him  and  all  in  him  confirmation  and 
life.  Whereas,  without  such  provision,  that  nature  was  under 
a  perpetual  liability  to  fall, — first  in  Adam,  and  then  in  his  seed; 
and  so,  to  involve  in  ruin  the  transgressor,  with  all  to  whom  the 
apostate  nature  should  flow  from  him. 

The  point  which  we  now  propose  to  establish  is,  that  we  were 
federally  in  Adam,  by  virtue  of  his  investiture  with  our  common 
nature,  with  the  covenant  inscribed  in  it; — that  the  covenant 
being  written  on  his  nature,  and  provision  made,  in  the  parental 
relation,  for  the  transmission  to  us  of  that  nature,  thus  bound  in 
covenant, — the  necessary  effect  of  the  whole  arrangement  was, 
to  constitute  Adam  our  federal  head,  by  virtue  of  the  parental 
relation  thus  characterized. 

Our  first  argument  is  derived  from  the  fact,  that  the  covenant 
is  actually  found  in  our  nature,  as  derived  from  our  first  parents; 
§  3.  Proof  of  and  that,  as  thus  received,  it  is  clothed  in  the  un- 
ou>-  doctrine,  altered  integrity  of  its  terms ;  and  accompanied  with 
an  indelible  record  of  its  having  been  broken,  prior  to  any  action 
or  consciousness  in  us  as  individuals.  "  The  covenant  of  nature 
is  so  called,  because  it  not  only  enforces  obedience  to  that  law, 
which  as  to  its  chief  features  was  inscribed  in  man's  nature,  but 
also  because  it  attached  to  the  universal  nature  of  man,  even  of 
those  who  were  yet  to  have  existence  by  the  order  of  generation."* 
The  alternative  which  the  facts  present,  is,  either,  that  the  con- 

*  Van  Mastriclit,  Lib.  III.  Cap.  xii.  \  8. 


312  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  x. 

ventional  terms  which,  were  first  addressed  to  Adam's  intellect 
merely,  through  the  ear,  were  transferred  to  his  nature  for  trans- 
mission to  his  seed,  after  those  terms  had  been  rendered  futile 
by  transgression, — or,  that  they  were  originally  given,  not  by 
conventional  agreement,  but  by  creative  inscription  on  Adam's 
heart  and  nature,  as  an  element  in  his  generative  constitution, 
binding  all  to  whom  that  nature  should  come.  Here  is  the  un- 
questionable and  important  fact,  that  the  covenant,  as  inscribed 
on  Adam's  heart,  is  transmitted  with  his  nature  to  all  his  seed; 
and  as  it  was  broken  by  him  prior  to  their  procreation,  and  had 
impressed  the  indelible  traces  of  that  violation  upon  his  heart,  so 
precisely  is  it  reproduced  in  us ; — the  same  in  terms ;  and  the 
same  in  the  evidences  of  transgression.  As  the  die,  which  is  en- 
stamped  upon  the  outer  of  many  sheets  of  paper,  not  only  im- 
presses its  figure  upon  that,  but  strikes  through,  and  marks  with 
the  same  image  the  whole,  so  is  it  here.  The  creative  voice  that 
addressed  Adam's  nature,  saying, — Do  and  live, — spake  not  to 
him  alone ;  but,  transmitted  through  that  nature,  is  heard  by  us, 
in  the  same  promise, — Do  and  live.  The  same  curse  which  by 
the  conditions  of  the  covenant  fell  upon  Adam's  soul,  and  blighted 
his  whole  nature,  reappears  continually,  as  an  element  insepa- 
rably connected  with  that  nature,  as  from  him  it  flows  to  his 
numerous  seed.  The  same  terror  of  the  curse  which  caused 
Adam  to  hide  from  the  presence  of  his  Maker,  still  pursues  us, 
and  creates  in  us  terror  at  that  same  presence.  It  is  thus 
abundantly  clear,  that,  whatever  provisions  may  have  been  made 
by  positive  dispensation  with  Adam,  the  covenant,  in  its  original 
form,  as  written  on  his  heart,  made  provision,  not  for  him  only, 
but  for  his  seed  with  him ;  including  them  in  its  engagements, 
and  holding  them  under  its  sanctions ;  and  this,  not  only  for 
personal  but  for  native  conformity,  in  the  first  parents,  in  whom 
the  common  nature  was  so  invested  and  endowed. 

Another  fact,  which  leads  us  directly  to  the  same  conclusion, 
is  the  manner  in  which  Christ  came  under  the  covenant  of 
works,  and  fulfilled  it.  Of  this  we  shall  have  occasion  to  treat 
more  in  detail  hereafter.  For  the  present,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  notice,  that  the  righteousness  of  Christ  is  meritoriously  ac- 


sect,  in.]     Adam  the  Covenant  Head  of  the  Race.  313 

ceptable,  no  otherwise,  than  as  it  is  conformity  to  the  law,  as  a 
covenant  of  works.  Under  the  obligations  of  this  covenant,  he 
came,  by  becoming  a  son  of  Adam  and  seed  of  the  woman. 
He  was  "made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,  to  redeem 
them  that  were  under  the  law." — Gal.  iv.  4,  5.  But  that  the 
law  under  which  he  came  was  not  the  positive  precept  concern- 
ing the  tree  of  knowledge,  we  need  not  prove.  The  law  which 
Christ  obeyed, — the  covenant  which  he  fulfilled,  was  that  which 
was  written  on  Adam's  heart.  Had  it  been  otherwise,  the  tree 
of  knowledge  should  have  been  preserved;  and  the  obedience 
of  the  Son  of  God,  must  have  related  to  the  prohibition  respect- 
ing that  tree.  The  fact,  therefore,  that  Christ  came,  under  the 
covenant  of  nature,  and  not  under  the  positive  precept;  and 
that  he  not  only  fulfilled  the  requirements  of  that  covenant,  but 
endured  its  curse,  as  a  son  of  Adam, — thus  expiating  the  sins 
of  those  who,  in  the  covenant  of  grace,  were  given  to  him,  to 
be  so  redeemed, — shows  conclusively,  that  in  the  covenant  of 
nature,  Adam  stood  as  the  representative  of  his  race.  This  is 
unquestionable,  inasmuch  as  the  very  covenant  which  Adam  our 
head  violated,  must  by  the  second  Adam  be  restored;  the  very 
precept  which  the  one  as  our  representative  transgressed,  it  was 
necessary  that  the  other,  coming  into  his  place,  should  obey; 
and  the  very  curse  which  the  transgression  incurred,  must  the 
Eestorer  endure.  In  short,  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world,  the  last  Adam,  was  "the  second  man;"  1  Cor. 
xv.  47, — the  immediate  substitute  and  successor  of  Adam,  "the 
first  man,"  upon  his  failure.  His  position,  as  such,  differed  from 
Adam's  in  nothing,  except  in  the  accidents  which  were  referable 
to  their  several  persons.  If,  then,  the  second  Adam  fulfilled 
the  covenant,  in  its  native  form,  and  not  as  embodied  in  the 
positive  precept  respecting  the  tree,  the  first  Adam  was  under 
it,  as  representative,  in  its  native  form;  and  could  not,  there- 
fore, have  been  called  to  that  office,  in  a  positive  transaction, 
which  supervened  upon  its  native  constitution,  and  occurred 
after  it. 

In  God's  other  dealings  with  Adam,  where  any  conventional 
representation  is  out  of  the  question,  he  is  yet  addressed  and 


314  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  x. 

dealt  with  as  the  impersonation  of  the  whole  race.  So  it  was, 
in  his  endowment  with  God's  image;  in  the  blessing,  "Be  fruit- 
ful, and  multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth,  and  subdue  it,  and 
have  dominion;"  in  the  gift  of  the  herbs  and  fruits,  for  food; 
and  in  the  institution  and  blessing  of  marriage. 

In  fact,  Adam's  representative  office  would  seem  to  be  the 
key,  and  the  only  key,  to  the  whole  family  institution,  and  to 
the  reason  of  the  production  of  the  entire  generations  of  men, 
not  from  one  pair  only,  but  from  one  individual.  As  the  indi- 
vidual Adam,  he  was  formed  by  the  creative  hand,  and  the 
nature  of  the  entire  race  implanted  in  him;  the  law  and  the 
covenant  are  inscribed  on  that  nature ;  and  the  blessing  of  fruit- 
fulness  pronounced  upon  him.  He  is  left  in  this  solitude  long 
enough  to  give  it  emphasis;  and  attention  is  called  to  it,  by  a 
special  inquiry  for  a  companion,  among  all  the  creatures  of  God. 
But  none  is  found.  Eve  is  then  formed, — not  from  the  dust,  as 
was  Adam ;  which  would  have  been  to  introduce  an  element  into 
the  race,  independent  of  the  covenant  as  made  by  inscription  in 
the  nature  of  its  head, — but  out  of  his  side.  Thus  was  indicated 
essential  equality,  but  responsible  subordination  to  him  as  head; 
and  communion  with  him  in  the  covenant  which  had  compre- 
hended his  entire  nature.  All  this  is  very  forcibly  asserted  by 
Adam,  when  she  was  brought  to  him.  "This  is  now  bone  of  my 
bones,  and  flesh  of  my  flesh.  She  shall  be  called  woman,  be- 
cause she  was  taken  out  of  man."  Thus  he  asserts  his  headship 
and  authority  over  her,  as  over  a  member  of  his  own  body. 
And  still  the  two  retain  the  name  of  the  first  man.  "  Male  and 
female  created  he  them,  and  blessed  them,  and  called  their  name 
Adam." — Gen.  v.  2.  And  when  afterward  the  earth  was  filled 
with  their  teeming  sons,  they  all,  in  their  myriad  hosts,  are,  at 
last,  but  Adam  still.  That,  in  the  Scriptures,  is  the  generic 
name  of  the  entire  race. 

The  parental  relation  is,  in  fact,  habitually  spoken  of  as  na- 
tively representative.  This  is  so,  in  cases  in  which  any  con- 
§4.  other  Scrip-  ventional  agreement  to  that  effect  is  entirely  pre- 
ture  examples.  eluded  by  the  circumstances.  Particularly  is  this 
the  case,  in  all  the  covenants  of  which  the  Scriptures  give  us 


sect,  in.]   Adam  the  Covenant  Head  of  the  Race.  315 

any  account,  as  entered  into  by  God.  Thus  it  was  in  the  eternal 
covenant  between  the  Father  and  the  Son,  of  which  we  shall 
hereafter  speak  particularly.  Its  promise  is  thus  stated  by  the 
Spirit  of  God: — "I  have  made  a  covenant  with  my  chosen.  I 
have  sworn  unto  David  my  servant,  Thy  seed  will  I  establish 
forever,  and  build  up  thy  throne  to  all  generations." — Psalm 
lxxxix.  3,  4.  The  representative  relation  of  the  second  Adam 
to  his  people  is  in  the  Scriptures  everywhere  expressed  in  terms 
of  the  parental  relation.  Although,  out  of  respect  to  his  eternal 
sonship  to  the  Father,  he  is  perhaps  never  specifically  called, 
father,  yet  is  he  the  husband  of  a  fruitful  spouse, — the  church ; 
her  children  are  his  seed,  begotten  by  him,  through  the  mission 
of  the  incorruptible  seed,  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  whom  they  are 
born  anew  unto  him.  Similar  is  the  case  of  Abraham.  Paul 
declares  Levi  to  have  paid  tithes  in  Abraham;  because  "he  was 
yet  in  the  loins  of  his  father  when  Melchizedek  met  him." — ■ 
Heb.  vii.  10.  The  representative  relation  of  Abraham  to  all  be- 
lievers is  also  expressed  by  this  title  of  father.  So  it  is  in  the 
covenant: — "A  father  of  many  nations  have  I  made  thee." 
"And  I  will  establish  my  covenant  between  me  and  thee  and 
thy  seed  after  thee, — to  be  a  God  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed 
after  thee." — Gen.  xvii.  5,  7.  It  is  in  the  same  manner  denned 
in  the  subsequent  scriptures.  Says  Paul,  "If  ye  be  Christ's, 
then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs  according  to  the  pro- 
mise."— Gal.  iii.  29.  The  same  principle  is  illustrated  in  the 
covenant  of  Sinai.  That  covenant  was  made  not  only  with  the 
adult  population,  but  with  their  little  ones,  and  their  unborn 
descendants.  See  Exodus  xix,  xx,  and  Deut.  xxix.  9-13. — 
"Keep  therefore  the  words  of  this  covenant,  and  do  them,  that 
ye  may  prosper  in  all  that  ye  do.  Ye  stand  here  this  day,  all 
of  you,  before  the  Lord  your  God ;  your  captains  of  your  tribes, 
your  elders  and  your  officers,  with  all  the  men  of  Israel,  your 
little  ones,  your  wives,  and  thy  stranger  that  is  in  thy  camp; 
from  the  hewer  of  thy  wood  unto  the  drawer  of  thy  water ;  that 
thou  shouldest  enter  into  covenant  with  the  Lord  thy  God,  and 
into  his  oath,  which  the  Lord  thy  God  maketh  with  thee  this 
day;  that  he  may  establish  thee  to-day  for  a  people  unto  him- 


316  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  x. 

self,  and  that  lie  may  be  unto  thee  a  God,  as  lie  hath  said  unto  thee, 
and  as  he  hath  sworn  unto  thy  fathers,  to  Abraham,  to  Isaac,  and 
to  Jacob."  The  ten  commandments  were  the  law  of  this  covenant. 
Says  Moses,  "  The  Lord  our  God  made  a  covenant  with  us  in  Horeb, 
....  saying,  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  which  brought  thee  up  out 
of  the  land  of  Egypt,  from  the  house  of  bondage.  Thou  shalt  have 
none  other  gods  before  me,"  &c. — Deut.  v.  2-21.  In  respect  to 
the  result  of  this  transaction,  we  are  told,  that  "the  people  served 
the  Lord  all  the  days  of  Joshua,  and  all  the  days  of  the  elders 
that  outlived  Joshua,  who  had  seen  all  the  great  works  of  the 
Lord  that  he  did  for  Israel."  But  when  Joshua  and  all  that 
generation  were  dead,  "there  arose  another  generation  after 
them,  which  knew  not  the  Lord,  nor  yet  the  works  which  he  had 
done  for  Israel.  And  the  children  of  Israel  did  evil  in  the  sight 
of  the  Lord,  and  served  Baalim." — Judges  ii.  7-11.  Of  this 
apostasy  of  the  descendants  of  those  with  whom,  immediately, 
the  covenant  was  made,  God  speaks  as  a  breach  of  it: — "The 
covenant  that  I  made  with  their  fathers,  in  the  day  that  I  took 
them  by  the  hand  to  bring  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt ;  which 
my  covenant  they  brake." — Jer.  xxxi.  32.  In  fact,  God  dis- 
tinctly declares,  by  Jeremiah,  that  he  held  Israel,  in  the  days  of 
that  prophet,  bound  by  the  covenant  of  Sinai : — "  Say  unto  them, 
Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  Cursed  be  the  man  that 
obeyeth  not  the  words  of  this  covenant  which  I  commanded 
your  fathers,  in  the  day  that  I  brought  them  forth  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt." — Jer.  xi.  3,  4.  Nothing  can  be  more  evident, 
than  that,  in  all  these  dealings  of  God  with  Israel,  the  parental 
office  is  recognised  as  essentially  representative  in  its  native 
constitution. 

"We  might,  to  the  same  purpose,  cite  the  covenant  with  Noah, 
and  that  with  Jonadab  the  son  of  Bechab.  The  same  idea  is 
involved  in  the  language  commonly  used,  in  the  Scriptures,  which 
represents  the  offspring  as  being  an  actual  multiplication  of  the 
parent.  "  I  will  make  my  covenant  between  me  and  thee,  and 
will  multiply  thee  exceedingly." — Gen.  xvii.  2.  Compare  Gen. 
i.  28;  xxviii.  3.  In  fact,  if  Adam's  representative  office  in  the 
covenant  did  not  have  its  basis  in  his  parental  relation  to  his 


sect,  iv.]    Adam  the  Covenant  Head  of  the  Race.  317 

posterity,  he  is  alone  in  this  respect.  Were  this  true,  it  would 
be  the  more  remarkable,  as  the  covenant  made  with  Adam  was 
undoubtedly  typical  of  that  with  Christ,  which  is  the  model  of 
all  the  others;  or,  rather,  we  should  say,  the  others  are  but 
transcripts  from  it;  as  we  shall  hereafter  see. 

The  representative  office,  which  is  attributed  to  parents  in 
the  Scriptures,  is  never  viewed  in  such  a  light  as  would  imply, 
I  5.  identity  or  consist  with,  its  having  origin  in  any  positive 
by  community  provision  of  God  with  parents,  or  in  any  mere  as- 
of  nature.  sertion  of  God's  sovereignty.     On  the  contrary,  it 

is  uniformly  introduced  and  treated  as  natively  in  the  parents, — 
as  essentially  involved  in  the  very  structure  of  the  parental  re- 
lation itself.  In  fact,  there  is  here  a  principle,  or  law  of  repre- 
sentation, which  is  recognised,  everywhere,  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  is  the  key  to  a  great  variety  of  expressions  there  employed. 
It  is,  that  community  in  a  propagated  nature  constitutes  such  a 
union,  or  oneness,  as  immediately  involves  the  possessor  in  all 
the  relations,  moral  and  legal,  of  that  nature,  in  the  progenitor 
whence  it  springs.  There  are  two  cases,  to  which  this  principle 
specially  applies,  and  by  which  its  correctness  may  be  tried. 
The  first  is  that  of  Adam  and  his  posterity.  The  second  is  that 
of  Christ,  the  head  and  fountain  of  a  new  nature  and  life  to  his 
people.  A  third  case  in  which  we  shall  hereafter  see  light  shed 
upon  the  principle  here  involved,  is  that  of  Christ  taking  upon 
himself  the  sin  of  the  world,  by  becoming  a  man.  The  force 
of  the  argument  from  the  relation  of  Christ  to  his  people,  can 
only  be  appreciated  by  bearing  constantly  in  mind  the  fact,  that 
Adam  and  the  covenant  with  him  and  his  seed  in  him  were 
expressly  designed  as  typical  of  the  second  Adam  and  his  seed 
in  him,  as  engaged  to  the  Father  in  the  eternal  covenant. 

The  principle,  of  which  these  cases  are  illustrations,  is  not  to 
be  so  understood,  as  though  the  character  thus  conveyed  were 
the  meritorious  cause  of  the  relations  predicated; — as  if  the 
believer  were  justified  by  the  personal  righteousness  which  he 
receives  through  the  power  of  Christ's  Spirit  given  to  him.  On 
the  contrary,  the  union,  which  is  constituted  by  virtue  of  the 
transmission  of  the  nature,  itself  conveys  a  proprietary  title  in 


318  The  EloUm  Revealed.  [chap.  x. 

the  moral  and  legal  relations  of  the  head;  whilst  the  efficient 
principle  which  thus  unites,  is  also  fruitful  in  effects  appropriate 
to  the  nature  whence  it  flows.  Thus,  the  sin  of  Adam,  and  the 
righteousness  of  Christ,  are  severally  imputed  to  their  seed,  by 
virtue  of  the  union,  constituted,  in  the  one  case,  by  the  prin- 
ciple of  natural  generation,  and  in  the  other,  by  "the  Spirit  of 
life  in  Christ  Jesus,"  the  Holy  Spirit, — the  principle  of  the 
regeneration.  At  the  same  time,  the  power  by  which  the  union 
is  in  these  cases  severally  wrought,  produces  likeness  to  the 
head.  "As  is  the  earthy,  such  are  they  that  are  earthy;  and 
as  is  the  heavenly,  such  are  they  also  that  are  heavenly." — 1  Cor. 
xv.  48.  "That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh;  and  that 
which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit." — John  iii.  6. 

It  is  objected,  that  the  relation  between  Christ  and  his  people 
is  a  moral  one;  and,  therefore,  it  must  be  so  between  Adam  and 
his  seed.  True;  but  the  relation,  and  the  tie  by  which  it  is 
established,  are  entirely  different  things.  The  relation  is  moral, — 
that  of  headship  in  covenant.  The  tie  is  substantial ; — in  the  one 
case,  the  Holy  Spirit,  dwelling  in  and  sent  forth  from  Christ,  as 
an  incorruptible  seed, — the  power  of  a  new  spiritual  life,  work- 
ing faith; — in  the  other,  the  natural  seed,  the  power  of  a  cor- 
rupted nature,  working  depravity  and  death.  The  following  pa- 
rallel exhibits  the  corresponding  relations  which  the  Scriptures 
predicate  of  Adam  and  Christ.  It  is  not  only  an  unanswerable 
argument  on  the  subject  before  us,  but  also  a  statement  in 
epitome  of  the  whole  doctrine  of  the  ruin  and  recovery  of  man, 
in  a  form  which,  if  the  Scriptures  be  true,  is  of  itself  an  over- 
whelming proof  of  the  truth  of  the  system  so  unfolded, — the 
Calvinistic,  the  scriptural  system  of  theology.  In  each  of  the 
cases  here  presented,  the  will  of  God  is  the  ultimate  cause  of  the 
whole  matter.  The  parallel  shows  how  that  will  has  taken 
effect,  unfolding  in  harmonious  perfection  and  symmetrical  pro- 
portion the  divine  holiness,  wisdom,  justice  and  grace.  A  careful 
inspection  must  satisfy  the  impartial  reader,  that  the  denial  that 
Adam  was  constituted  the  representative  of  the  race,  by  being 
made  its  father,  strikes  down  a  central  pillar  of  the  whole  system 
of  revealed  truth. 


sect,  v.]     Adam  the  Covenant  Head  of  the  Race. 


319 


The  First  Adam. 
The  image  of  God.  (a) 
The  covenant  of  works. 
A  transgressor.     Condemned. 
A  living  soul,  (c) — a  father, — 

the  source  of  natural  life. 
Law  of  natural  generation, — 
the  corruptible  seed.(cZ) 
Birth. 
The  flesh. 
The  principle  of  natural  gene- 
ration, the  bond  of  union. 
Apostate  in  Adam. 
By  the  offence  of  one,  judgment 
unto  condemnation,  (e) 
Many  made  sinners. 
By  nature  children  of 
wrath.  (/) 
Depravity  and  every  sin  the 
fruits  of  nature,  (h) 
As  is  the  earthy,  such  are  they 
that  are  earthy,  (i) 
The  image  of  the  earthy. 
The  carnal  mind  is  enmity 

against  God.(j) 
Growing  corruption  by  the 
power  of  Adam's  nature.  (I) 
Vessels  of  wrath  fitted  for  de- 
struction, (n) 
Death. 
In  Adam  all  die.(o) 
The  second  death. 


The  Second  Adam. 
The  express  image,  (b) 
The  everlasting  covenant. 
Obedient.     Justified. 
A  quickening  spirit,  (e) — a  father, 

— the  source  of  divine  life. 

Law  of  the  Spirit  of  life, — the 

incorruptible  seed.  (cZ) 

New  Birth. 

The  Spirit. 

The  Spirit, — the  incorruptible 

seed,  the  bond  of  union. 

Reconciled  in  Christ. 

By  the  righteousness  of  one,  the 

free  gift  unto  justification. (e) 

Many  made  righteous. 

Begotten  again  unto  a  lively 

hope.O) 

Faith  and  every  grace  the  fruits 

of  the  Spirit,  (h) 

As  is  the  heavenly,  such  are 

they  that  are  heavenly,  (i) 

The  image  of  the  heavenly. 

He  that  is  born  of  God  loveth 

God.(fc) 
Sanctification  by  partaking  of 

the  divine  nature,  (m) 
Vessels  of  mercy  prepared  unto 
glory,  (n) 
Sleep. 
In  Christ  all  made  alive,  (o) 
Eternal  life. 


(a)  Gen.  i.  26.  (b)  Heb.  i.  3.  (c)  1  Cor.  xv.  45.  (d)  1  Pet.  i.  23,  1  John  iii.  9. 
(e)  Rom.  v.  18,  19.  (/)  Eph.  ii.  3.  (ff)  1  Pet.  i.  3.  (A)  Gal.  v.  19-23.  (0  1  Cor. 
xv.  48,  49.  (/)  Rom.  viii.  7.  (/c)  1  John  v.  2.  (I)  Eph.  iv.  22.  (w)  2  Pet.  i.  4. 
(n)  Rom.  ix.  22,  23.     (o)  1  Cor.  xv.  22. 


320  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  x. 

If  the  reader  will  attempt  to  modify  the  scheme  here  pre- 
sented, and  adapt  it  to  the  idea  that  the  representative  union  of 
Adam  and  his  children  is  formed  by  a  mere  positive  dispensation, 
he  will  find  that  the  effect  is,  not  only  to  destroy  the  parallel, 
but  to  mar  utterly  the  proportion  and  the  significance  of  the 
language  employed  in  the  Scriptures,  as  expressive  of  the  rela- 
tions of  his  people  to  Christ.  Thus,  if  instead  of  "  The  principle 
of  natural  generation,  the  bond  of  union," — which  here  stands 
as  the  ground  of  the  representative  relation, — we  substitute  "A 
positive  dispensation  with  Adam,"  not  only  does  it  obliterate  the 
parallel,  but  destroys  the  significance  and  the  appropriateness 
of  all  the  figures  which  cluster  around  the  official  functions  and 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  What,  then,  is  the  propriety  of 
Christ's  being  called  "a  quickening  spirit,"  and  that  in  con- 
trast with  Adam,  the  " living  soul,"  the  fountain  of  natural  life 
to  the  race?  What,  the  meaning  of  the  designation  of  the 
work  of  grace,  as,  the  "new  birth"?  of  the  titles,  " children  of 
God," — "the  seed"  of  Christ?  and  of  that  name  which  is  given 
to  the  Spirit — "the  incorruptible  seed," — "the  seed  that  re- 
maineth  in"  those  who  are  born  of  God?  In  regard  to  these  last 
expressions,  it  may  be  objected,  that  in  the  parable  of  the  sower 
(Matt.  xiii. ;  Mark  iv.)  the  seed  is  the  word ;  and  therefore  it 
must  be  so  in  these  places.  But  the  fact  of  a  figure  being  used 
in  a  particular  sense  in  a  given  parable,  determines  nothing  in 
respect  to  its  meaning  in  other  parts  of  the  Scriptures.  In  the 
parable  of  the  tares,  the  same  word,  seed,  designates  the  people 
of  God  in  the  bosom  of  the  church.  "  The  good  seed  are  the 
children  of  the  kingdom ;  but  the  tares  are  the  children  of  the 
wicked  one." — Matt.  xiii.  38.  In  the  place  quoted  from  1  Peter 
i.  23,  the  efficient  principle,  the  seed,  and  the  formal  instru- 
mentality, the  word,  are  clearly  distinguished  from  each  other, 
by  the  structure  of  the  sentence,  and  the  change  of  prepositions : 
— "Born  again  (oux  ix  anoptxz  ydapzrfi,  oJJm  dtpddpzoo,)  not  by  the 
power  of  corruptible  seed,  but  of  incorruptible,  (did  Xoyoo  Qcovroz 
dsou,)  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  living  word  of  God." 

In  fact,  the  apostle  does  not  recognise  the  word  of  God  in  the 
figure  of  the  new  birth,  but  introduces  it  immediately  after,  (ch. 
ii.  2,)  as,  "  the  sincere  milk"  whereby  the  new-born  are  nourished. 


sect,  v.]     Adam  the  Covenant  Head  of  the  Race.  321 

The  parallel  language  of  Paul  to  the  Galatians  is  conclusive  as 
to  the  interpretation  to  be  given  to  the  words  of  Peter.  Gal. 
iv.  23: — "He  that  was  (ix  zrtc,  Tiacd'toxr^,)  of  the  bondwoman, 
was  born  (xaza  adpxa)  after  the  flesh;  but  he  that  was  (ix  z7tc, 
kteudipat;)  of  the  freewoman,  was  {oca  zr^  litccffsXUa^  by,  or, 
in  fulfilment  of,  the  promise."  In  the  other  place,  1  John 
iii.  9,  the  word  translated,  seed,  is  different,  (one p pa.,)  the 
efficient  principle  of  generation;  and  when  it  is  remembered 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  certainly  the  principle  of  the  new 
nature  and  life  in  the  regenerate, — that  he  proceedeth  from 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  (John  xiv.  16,  26 ;  xv.  26) ;  and  that, 
although  he  is  undoubtedly  the  immediate  efficient  agent  in 
the  new  birth,  the  regenerate  are  constantly  called,  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Father,  and  of  Christ,  but  never,  of  the  Spirit, — 
the  inference  would  seem  to  be  inevitable,  that  he  is  the  seed 
here  spoken  of.  Still  more  certain  is  this,  when  we  consider 
the  power  here  attributed  to  the  indwelling  seed,  by  which  sin 
is  impossible.  Unquestionably,  the  efficiency  here  described 
belongs  to  the  sanctifying  Spirit,  alone.  In  short,  the  indwell- 
ing of  the  incorruptible  seed  is  distinctly  stated  as  the  equiva- 
lent of  the  new  birth: — "For  his  seed  remaineth  in  him,  and  he 
cannot  sin,  because  he  is  born  of  God." 

We  have  stated  it,  as  a  principle  traceable  both  in  the  doctrine 
of  the  ruin  and  of  the  redemption  of  man,  that  community  in  a 
propagated  nature  constitutes  an  identity,  or  oneness,  between 
the  offspring  and  their  head.  But  wTe  should  entirely  fail  to  ex- 
hibit the  whole  significance  of  the  principle,  and  its  importance, 
did  we  omit  to  trace  it  to  its  norm,  in  the  persons  of  the  eternal 
Father  and  his  coeternal  Son.  Respecting  the  real  and  perfect 
unity  and  distinct  personality  of  the  blessed  Three,  and  the 
eternal  generation  of  the  Son,  we  have  already  spoken.  Tin- 
point  concerning  it  which  is  important  to  the  present  subject,  is 
the  fact  that  the  unity  of  the  Father  and  Son  consists  in  the 
oneness  of  the  divine  essence,  which  is  by  generation  communi- 
cated from  the  Father  to  the  Son.  That  the  relation  which 
subsists  between  Christ  and  his  people  is  designed  to  illustrate 
and  shed  forth  this  divine  mystery,  we  have  seen  our  Saviour  to 

21 


322  The  Elohim  Revealed,  [chap.  x. 

assert,  in  his  sacerdotal  prayer: — "That  they  all  may  be  one; 
as  thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be 
one  in  us;  that  the  world  may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me. 
And  the  glory  which  thou  gavest  me,  I  have  given  them ;  that 
they  may  be  one,  even  as  we  are  one;  I  in  them,  and  thou  in 
me,  that  they  may  be  made  perfect  in  one." — John  xvii.  21-23. 
This  idea  runs  through  the  whole  of  that  most  wonderful  prayer. 
Again,  in  John  xiv.  20 : — "  At  that  day  ye  shall  know  that  I  am 
in  my  Father,  and  ye  in  me,  and  I  in  you." 

The  relation  of  the  first  Adam  to  his  race  is  similar  to  and 
typical  of  that  of  the  second  Adam  to  his  seed;  although,  in 
this,  as  in  all  things  else,  the  glory  of  the  latter  far  exceeds 
that  of  the  former;  constituting  a  much  nearer  resemblance  to 
the  relation  subsisting  between  the  Father  and  the  eternal  Son. 
As  the  oneness  of  the  Father  and  Son  consists  in  the  subsistence 
of  both  in  one  undivided  essence,  communicated  through  the 
eternal  generation;  so,  Christ  and  his  people  are  one  by  virtue 
of  their  communion  in  one  undivided  Spirit,  imparted  in  the 
regeneration,  inducing  an  identity  so  intimate  that  "he  that  is 
joined  to  the  Lord  is  one  Spirit."  In  a  modified  resemblance 
to  these,  is  the  relation  of  Adam  to  his  seed.  He  and  they  are 
one  by  virtue  of  community  in  a  nature  which,  originally  one, 
in  Adam,  is  communicated  to  his  posterity  by  generation,  and  is 
possessed  by  them,  not,  as  in  the  other  case,  in  common  and 
undivided,  but  distributively  and  in  severalty.  And  as  the 
unity  of  the  adorable  Three  does  not  obliterate  or  even  obscure 
the  several  personality,  so  neither  is  there  any  such  effect  realized 
in  respect  to  the  second  Adam,  nor  to  the  first.  In  the  latter 
case  particularly,  the  distributive  mode  of  communion  in  the 
human  nature,  constitutes  a  broad  line  of  demarcation,  which 
precludes  any  ground  of  pretence  that  such  is  the  effect.  Whilst 
thus  all  are  one  in  Adam,  and  justly  responsible  and  condemned 
for  the  apostasy  of  the  nature  which  they  derive  from  him,  each 
one  has  a  distinct  and  several  person  and  independent  moral 
agency,  involving  several  and  personal  obligation  and  responsi- 
bility before  God.  The  immediate  design  of  the  Creator,  in 
establishing  the  parental  relation,  as  constituted  in  Adam,  was 


sect,  v.]      Adam  the  Covenant  Head  of  the  Race.  323 

the  introduction  of  a  representative  system.  The  final  end  of 
the  whole  dispensation  was  the  unfolding  and  illustration  of  the 
inner  nature  of  the  Triune  God, — that  mystery,  to  the  exposi- 
tion of  which,  of  all  God's  works,  our  world  and  race  have  been 
specially  designated.  The  fact  that  man's  nature,  low  and  base 
as  it  is,  is  utterly  unworthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory  of 
his  Maker,  no  more  precludes  the  propriety  of  the  illustration, 
thence  deduced,  than  does  the  inadequacy  of  the  atom,  or  the 
universe.  To  reduce  the  mysteries  of  the  divine  subsistence  to 
the  level  of  the  finite  things  by  which  they  are  revealed,  is 
atheism.  To  refuse  to  listen  to  the  teachings,  because  unworthy 
of  his  majesty,  were  to  plunge  into  ignorance  and  infidelity, 
through  pretence  of  reverence  for  the  ineffable  God. 

A  consideration  of  the  only  alternative,  will  confirm  our  doc- 
trine, as  to  the  relation  of  Adam's  natural  to  his  federal  head- 
i  6.  The  ai-  ship.  We  assume  that  he  did  unquestionably  sus- 
tematice  doc-  tain  the  office  of  representative  for  his  seed.  If  he 
trine'  occupied  such  a  position,  it  must  have  been  either  by 

virtue  of  the  inscription  of  the  covenant  in  his  nature  by  the 
creative  finger,  or  by  a  positive  arrangement  made  with  Adam, 
subsequent  to  his  creation.  The  latter  view,  however,  is  in- 
volved in  hopeless  difficulties,  at  which  we  can  but  briefly 
glance. 

This  theory  ignores,  altogether,  the  fact  which  is  unquestion- 
able, that  the  covenant  was,  in  Adam's  creation,  written  on  his 
nature,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  conveyed  with  that  nature  to 
all  his  seed.  That  the  law  and  covenant  are  inseparably  identi- 
fied with  each  other,  in  God's  dealings  with  man,  the  Scriptures 
everywhere  testify.  That  covenant  law,  the  apostle  Paul 
declares  to  be  written  in  the  hearts  of  the  Gentile  world,  in- 
ducing in  them  efforts  after  a  legal  righteousness  and  legal 
hopes.  They  "show  the  work  of  the  law  written  in  their 
hearts,  their  conscience  also  bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts 
the  meanwhile  accusing  or  else  excusing  one  another." — Rom. 
ii.  15.  That  the  heathen  world  find  in  this  in  written  law  pro- 
mises, as  well  as  threatenings,  that  they  hope  to  win  God's 
favour  on  its  terms,  as  well  as  thereby  to  escape  from  its  curse, 


324  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  x. 

it  would  be  idle  for  us  to  prove.  It  will  scarcely  be  questioned. 
This  law,  engraven  on  man's  nature,  "as  a  covenant  of  works," 
is,  by  our  Confession,  made  the  foundation  stone  of  the  whole 
system  of  God's  dispensations  with  man.*  That  these  things 
are  so,  is  not,  we  believe,  denied  by  any,  who  hold  the  doctrine 
of  the  covenant.  That  their  relation  to  the  whole  question  of 
Adam's  representative  office  is  most  intimate  and  important,  is 
manifest.  And  yet,  without  a  reason,  and  apparently  without  a 
thought,  they  are  left  out  of  the  account  by  the  theory  of  con- 
stituted headship  to  which  we  here  object. 

Again,  it  is  assumed  as  essential  to  this  whole  conception,  that 
Adam's  parental  relation  to  his  posterity  was  one  of  a  purely 
serial  nature.  His  was  the  first  in  a  series  of  names ;  and,  at  the 
instant  of  his  creation,  prior  to  the  conventional  arrangement 
which  is  imagined,  there  was  nothing  in  his  nature  and  consti- 
tution implying  more  than  this.  In  other  words,  the  causative 
relation  between  him  and  his  seed  is  either  overlooked  or  denied. 
They  were  not  in  him,  in  any  higher  or  different  sense  than  the 
ward  is  in  his  guardian,  or  the  constituent  in  the  legislator. 
Hence,  it  is  assumed  that,  but  for  the  positive  provision,  his 
conduct  would  not  have  affected  us  at  all;  and  that  the  actual 
effects  are  only  such  as  are  appropriate  to  a  relation  so  consti- 
tuted. His  sin  is  not  properly  our  sin,  but  only  the  ground  of 
penal  visitations  upon  us.  His  depravation  is  not  common  to  us ; 
but  we  are  depraved  by  a  process  of  mixed  penal  and  sovereign 
dispensations,  based  upon  our  constructive  relation  to  his  sin. 
In  short,  to  all  the  purposes  of  this  theory,  any  other  moral  in- 
telligence, however  naturally  unrelated  to  us,  would  have  been 
as  competent  to  be  our  federal  head,  as  was  Adam;  and  the  con- 
sequences which  flow  to  us  would  have  been  precisely  the  same, 
and  would  have  resulted  in  the  same  way.  So  entirely  is  the 
natural  relation  of  Adam  to  us,  and  the  inscription  of  the  cove- 
nant in  our  common  nature,  left  out  of  the  account. 

In  vindication  of  such  views,  it  is  denied  that  the  law  of 
generation,  that  like  begets  its  like,  is  applicable  to  the  propaga- 

*  Confession,  chap.  xix.  \\  1,  2.     See  above,  p.  287. 


sect,  vi.]    Adam  the  Covenant  Head  of  the  Race.  325 

tion  of  sin,  or,  in  fact,  to  the  dissemination  of  accidental  differ- 
ences at  all,  or  any  tiling  but  specific  distinctions.  But  this  is 
manifestly  a  mistake.  The  law  of  generation  is  as  clearly 
marked,  and  its  operation  as  firmly  established  and  demon- 
strated, in  the  perpetuation  of  varieties  as  of  species. 
"Where  was  it  ever  known  that  the  tractable  greyhound,  or  the 
generous  Newfoundland  dog,  was  the  offspring  of  the  ferocious 
bloodhound,  or  the  cur  ?  Is  there  any  ambiguity  in  the  demar- 
cation between  the  fleet  barb  of  Arabia,  the  London  dray-horse, 
and  the  Shetland  pony  ?  "When  did  it  happen  that  the  child  of 
Caucasian  parents  displayed  the  traits  which  are  distinctive 
of  the  African  or  Indian  tribes  ?  Is  there  any  thing  indeter- 
minate in  the  marks  which  distinguish  the  Celtic,  the  Saxon, 
and  the  Gallic  races  ?  Were  the  natural  principle  which  these 
cases  illustrate,  to  be  violated  in  any  well-defined  instance,  the 
fact  would  be  as  entirely  unaccountable, — as  utterly  at  variance 
with  the  recognised  principles  of  propagation,  as  would  be  the 
perpetuation  of  a  hybrid  race.  It  is  thus  evident  that,  to  a  very 
wide  extent,  it  is  a  characteristic  of  propagation  in  the  whole 
animal  kingdom,  and,  in  fact,  in  the  vegetable  world  also,  that 
traits  and  features,  which  are  accidental  to  a  species,  are  often 
transmitted  with  a  certainty  as  decided  as  that  which  perpe- 
tuates the  species  itself.  Nor  is  this  true  of  physical  features 
merely;  but, — even  in  the  case  of  the  lower  animals, — of  those 
which  we  may  be  permitted,  by  way  of  analogy,  to  designate  as 
moral  traits;  as  a  moment's  reflection  upon  the  cases  already 
cited  will  demonstrate.  In  truth,  no  fact  is  more  familiar  to 
observation,  nor  more  clearly  marked  in  the  constitution  of  man, 
than  the  tendency  to  perpetuate  the  distinctive  intellectual  and 
moral  characteristics  of  parents  in  their  children.  What  is  the 
meaning  of  this  trait  which  was  enstamped  on  man's  constitu- 
tion by  Him  who  does  nothing  in  vain, — if  its  principal  design 
and  most  important  result  was  not  the  propagation  of  Adam's 
moral  nature ;  whether  confirmed  in  holiness,  as  the  result  might 
have  been,  or  apostate  and  depraved,  as  is  the  lamentable  case  ? 
Are  not  the  phenomena  in  the  inferior  creation  to  which  we  have 
alluded,  the  perpetuation  of  particular  family  and  race  charac- 


326  The  Elolilm  Revealed.  [chap.  x. 

teristics,  and  the  propagation  of  Adam's  depraved  nature,  all 
particulars  of  one  general  law,  that  every  creature  brings  forth 
after  its  kind?  In  fact,  there  seems  to  be  a  peculiar  signifi- 
cance in  the  manner  in  which,  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  as 
in  the  process  of  the  creation  we  ascend  the  scale  of  being,  we  are 
at  each  step  met  by  the  reiterated  announcement  of  this  prin- 
ciple, established  in  every  instance  as  the  law  of  propagation. 
"  The  fruit  tree  yielding  fruit  after  his  kind."  "  Every  living  crea- 
ture that  moveth,  which  the  waters  brought  forth  abundantly,  after 
their  kind,  and  every  winged  fowl  after  his  kind."  "  Cattle,  and 
creeping  thing,  and  beast  of  the  earth,  after  his  kind."  "  And 
God  blessed  them,  saying,  Be  fruitful,  and  multiply."  If  it  be  true, 
that  the  Scriptures  are  designed  to  teach,  not  natural  science, 
but  theology,  we  ask,  what  is  the  meaning  of  this  reiterated 
statement  of  a  fact,  which  stands  so  conspicuous  on  the  whole 
face  of  living  nature,  that  it  certainly  required  no  such  means 
to  make  it  known  ?  Is  it  not  designed  to  point  to  that  signal 
feature  in  man's  nature,  upon  which  the  entire  Scriptures  pre- 
dicate all  the  importance  of  their  revelations,  both  respecting 
the  ruin  and  recovery  of  man  ?  How  significant,  too,  the  terms 
in  which  the  man,  as  yet  alone,  is  blessed  by  his  Maker  : — "  Be 
fruitful,  and  multiply;" — multiply,  not  by  the  production  of  others 
like  him,  merely,  but  by  their  multiplication  from  his  person, 
— first  verified  by  the  separation  of  the  woman  from  his  side; 
and  then  by  the  propagation,  from  the  substance  of  the  twain, 
of  the  multitudes  destined  to  people  and  subdue  the  earth. 

To  all  this,  when  we  add  the  fact,  that  the  Scriptures  empha- 
tically point  to  the  phenomenon  of  propagation,  to  account  for 
the  depravity  of  the  human  race,  we  are  shut  up  to  one  conclu- 
sion. Of  our  ancestor  Seth  we  are  told,  that  "Adam  begat  a 
son  in  his  own  likeness,  after  his  image." — Gen.  v.  3.  The  pa- 
triarchs, in  the  book  of  Job,  are  unanimous  on  the  subject.  (Job 
i  xiv.  1,  4;  xv.  14;  xxv.  4.)  They  declare  man  corrupt,  because 
he  is  propagated  from  a  corrupted  source.  To  this  David  traces 
his  crimes.  (Psalm  li.  5.)  The  same  doctrine  is  attested  by 
Christ.  (John  iii.  6.)  And  the  apostle  Paul  asserts  it  in  terms  as 
emphatic.  (1  Cor.  xv.  48,  49.)     The  alternative  is,  to  deny  the 


sect,  vi.]    Adam  the  Covenant  Head  of  the  Race.  327 

truth  of  all  these  statements,  which  might  be  indefinitely  multi- 
plied,— to  deny,  in  other  words,  that  "original  sin  is  conveyed 
from  our  first  parents  unto  their  posterity  by  natural  genera- 
tion,"*— to  admit  our  doctrine, — or,  to  take  refuge  in  the  as- 
sumption, that  after  Adam's  creation,  upon  occasion  of  the 
positive  agreement  supposed,  his  nature  was  amended  by  the 
creative  hand,  so  as  to  secure  the  propagation  of  depravity  from 
him  by  generation,  in  case  of  his  apostasy.  Even  then,  the  only 
possible  refuge  of  this  theory  is  in  the  Placsean  doctrine  of  me- 
diate imputation,  or  something  else  as  inconsistent  with  the 
scriptural  doctrine.  Depravity  has  its  foundation,  beyond  ques- 
tion, in  the  natural  relation  which  subsists  between  us  and  Adam, 
as  he  was  in  covenant  with  God, — the  testimonies  of  the  Scrip- 
tures above  cited  being  admitted.  And, — whether  the  sugges- 
tion of  a  post-creative  modification  of  Adam's  nature  be  admitted, 
or  depravity  be  allowed  to  flow  to  his  seed  by  virtue  of  his  ori- 
ginal constitution, — yet  depravity  thence  resulting  must,  both 
in  the  order  of  nature,  and  in  fact,  antedate  any  imputation  of 
his  sin,  which  may  be  supposed  to  result  from  a  post-natural  con- 
vention with  Adam.  This  result  is  the  more  obvious,  as,  accord- 
ing to  this  theory,  it  is  denied,  that  Adam's  sin  is  imputed  to  us, 
as  really  ours,  at  all;  but  we  are  only  liable  to  its  punishment; 
and  that,  not  fully,  as  by  itself,  but  only  as  associated  with  our 
actual  depravity  and  sins.  Thus  original  sin,  as  sin,  is  reduced 
to  native  depravity  alone. 

But  these  are  not  the  only  difficulties  which  encumber  the 
view  here  considered.  It  is  a  question  which  admits  of 
■j  7  principle  no  satisfactory  answer, — how,  by  such  an  arrange- 
of  repreaento-  ment,  Adam  could,  in  fact,  be  constituted  our  re- 
presentative. This  question  is  usually  met  by 
reference  to  the  customs  of  society,  and  the  principles  of  repre- 
sentation, as  practised  in  civil  affairs.  A  single  individual  re- 
presents a  county  in  the  legislature,  a  state  in  congress,  or, 
a  nation  at  foreign  courts.  An  attorney,  or  a  commercial  agent, 
represents  an  individual,  a  firm,  or  a  larger  company,  by  whom 

*  Larger  Catechism,  Qu.  26. 


328  The  Ehhim  Revealed.  [chap.  x. 

he  is  employed.  The  guardian,  for  many  purposes,  represents 
his  ward.  In  many  of  these  cases,  it  is  said  that  the  constituent 
or  client  is  responsible  for  the  acts  of  a  representative  whom  he 
never  appointed,  and  in  whose  action  he  was  not  a  consenting 
party.  Again,  it  is  said  that  the  will  of  the  parties  to  a  cove- 
nant determines  the  amplitude  of  its  range; — that  by  positive 
agreement  God  chose  Adam  to  act  as  the  representative  of  the 
race,  and  Adam  agreed  to  the  choice ;  and  that,  upon  the  prin- 
ciples which  govern  covenants,  the  arrangement  thus  entered 
into  binds  the  posterity  of  Adam.  But,  if  this  doctrine  be  cor- 
rect, then  may  two  petty  chieftains  in  the  heart  of  Africa  enter 
into  mutual  covenants  by  which  they  shall  severally  undertake 
for  and  bind,  in  all  coming  time,  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States,  in  any  such  obligations  as  the  self-constituted  representa- 
tives may  see  fit  to  impose !  And  the  whole  transaction  would 
be  of  binding  force !  So  far,  however,  is  such  a  principle  from 
being  countenanced  by  any  example  whatever,  that  in  every  in- 
stance usually  cited  in  its  support,  the  rule  by  which  is  determined 
the  extent  of  the  constituency  represented,  is, — not  the  will  of  the 
representative,  with  or  without  the  concurrence  of  the  opposite 
party, — but  the  number  concurring  in  his  appointment.  So  it 
is  in  the  cases  of  political  representation  referred  to.  So  it  is  in 
mercantile  transactions.  The  agent  acts  for  those,  and  those 
only,  by  whom  he  was  commissioned. 

All  the  cases  usually  cited,  in  illustration  of  the  doctrine  of 
representation,  are  reducible  to  two  classes.  In  the  first  the 
representative  derives  his  commission  from  those  for  whom  he 
acts ;  and  they  define  the  extent  of  his  authority  in  the  premises. 
Such  are  the  relations  of  the  attorney  to  his  client, — of  the 
commercial  agent  to  the  houses  by  whom  he  is  employed, — and 
of  the  ambassador  to  his  sovereign.  The  second  class  differs 
from  this,  only  by  reason  of  the  fact,  that  the  apparent  is  not 
the  real  constituent.  Thus,  the  guardian,  although  he  is  some- 
times looked  upon  as  the  representative  of  his  ward,  is  really 
the  representative  of  the  state,  by  whom  he  is  appointed;  and 
on  whose  behalf  he  exercises  the  functions  of  government  and 
guardianship.     So  it  is  with  the  political  representative.     My 


sect,  vii.]    Adam  the  Covenant  Head  of  the  Race.  329 

duty  of  obedience  to  the  laws,  is  not  because  my  personal  repre- 
sentative concurred  in  their  enactment;  but  because  they  were 
passed  by  a  body  exercising  "the  power"  which  God  has  be- 
stowed upon  the  state.  If  the  former  were  the  principle,  it 
would  follow,  that  each  individual  would  be  absolved  from  obli- 
gation, in  every  case  in  which  his  representative  had  either  been 
absent,  or  refused  his  consent  to  the  enactment;  and  he  who 
should  decline  to  vote  for  any  legislator  would  be  free  from  all 
duty  of  obedience.  The  various  institutions  which  pertain  to 
the  political  and  social  organizations  of  society  afford  no  example, 
from  whence  may  be  deduced  the  doctrine  that  it  belongs  to  the 
parties  to  a  covenant,  to  determine  how  many  and  whom  they 
will  represent.  It  is  only  the  statement  of  a  truism,  to  say  that 
the  parties  to  a  covenant,  when  met,  can  act  for  none  except 
those  on  whose  behalf  they  hold  commission.  When,  in  the  po- 
sitive transaction  which  is  supposed  to  have  taken  place,  God 
and  Adam  met,  the  position  of  the  Creator  was,  by  supposition, 
that  of  a  voluntary  waiver  of  sovereignty,  and  assumption  of  the 
attitude  and  relations  of  a  covenanting  party.  In  consistency 
with  the  ground  taken,  nothing  may  be  predicated  of  his  actions, 
but  what  is  in  accordance  with  the  attitude  thus  assumed. 
When  Adam  entered  into  the  convention,  either  he  already  held 
commission  to  act  on  behalf  of  his  posterity,  or  ho  did  not.  If 
he  did,  or  even  if  he  had  a  right  to  enter  into  a  conventional 
agreement  to  act  for  them,  that  is  to  say  that  he  was  by  nature 
their  representative;  for  no  higher  exercise  of  vicarious  author- 
ity can  be  imagined  than  that  of  appointing  a  representative  for 
the  race ;  and  that,  too,  where  the  issues  were  of  no  less  moment 
than  eternal  life  and  death.  If  Adam  had  not  already  commis- 
sion, how  did  he  acquire  it? — Was  it  by  an  act  of  spontaneous 
assumption  by  him  ?  or,  by  commission  from  the  other  party  in 
the  treaty  ? 

Nor  will  it  relieve  the  difficulties  of  the  case,  to  appeal  to  the 
divine  sovereignty, — to  assert  that  God  was  competent,  by  the 
mere  exercise  of  his  pleasure,  to  make  Adam  our  representative, 
although  natively  he  was  not  so.  We  might  show,  that,  by  this 
supposition,  the  whole  dispensation  is  presented  in  the  light  of 


330  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  x. 

mere  terrible  majesty  and  power,  clothed  in  the  form  of  a 
covenant  with  Adam,  but  having  toward  him  no  grace,  and  being 
to  his  offspring  no  covenant.  But  it  is  unnecessary  to  enter 
into  such  an  argument.  The  very  supposition  here  suggested 
is  in  itself  a  contradiction  in  terms.  It  is  denied  that  we  were 
natively  in  Adam,  as  a  covenant  head;  and  asserted  that,  by  a 
sovereign  act,  which  exerted  no  direct  influence,  either  creative 
or  modifying, — an  act  simply  decretive  or  judicial, — we  were 
instated  in  him.  And  the  challenge  may,  perhaps,  be  made, 
whether  any  one  will  deny  the  infinite  power  of  God.  The  matter 
involved,  however,  is  not  one  of  either  sovereignty  or  power, 
but  of  truth.  The  theory,  under  another  name,  is  the  very  same 
which  Edwards  vindicates,  in  his  doctrine  of  identity.  It  is, — 
that  the  divine  power  is  such  that  it  can  "make  truth;" — that, 
although  we  were  not  really  one  with  Adam,  and  God  did  not 
modify  in  the  least  the  real  state  of  the  case,  intrinsically, — yet 
can  he,  and  did  he,  make  us  one  with  him.  Thus  does  this 
invention  attribute  to  God  the  office  of  calling  into  being  a 
spectre  so  flimsy,  that  the  very  parties  who  assert  its  existence, 
profess  to  see  through  it,  and  declare  it  false;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  so  powerful  as  to  drag  down  the  entire  race  of  man  in 
utter  ruin.  After  all  the  influence  of  the  sovereign  power, 
which  is  supposed  to  have  made  us  one  with  Adam,  it  is  at  last 
denied  that  we  are  any  more  really  one  with  him  than  we  were 
before.  In  fact,  this  theory  constitutes  the  fundamental  element 
in  a  system  of  feigned  issues  and  fictitious  constructions,  attri- 
buted to  God; — a  system  which  may  be  appropriate  to  human 
tribunals,  but  will  find  no  place  at  the  bar  of  truth.  He  who 
supposes  that  God's  dealings  with  his  creatures  are,  in  any  case 
or  manner,  controlled  by  relations,  or  imagined  relations,  not  in 
accordance  with  the  intrinsic  state  of  the  case,  as  it  is,  in  every 
respect, — not  only  denies  that  the  judgments  of  God  are  accord- 
ing to  truth,  but  involves  himself  in  the  further  conclusion  that 
the  Almighty  is  without  a  moral  nature  at  all.  For,  to  imagine 
that  he  can  look  upon  one  as  guilty,  in  a  matter  in  which  he  is 
not  guilty,  or  liable  to  be  punished  as  a  sinner,  when  in  fact  he 
is  not  a  sinner,  is  to  assume,  that  holiness  is  no  more  in  harmony 


sect,  vii.]    Adam  the  Covenant  Head  of  the  Race.  331 

with  God's  nature  than  sin, — truth  no  more  pleasing  to  him  than 
a  lie. 

But,  notwithstanding  all  the  difficulties  thus  presented,  were 
the  theory  in  question  taught  in  the  Scriptures,  we  should  be 
bound  to  lay  our  hands  on  our  mouths,  and  accept  it  with  un- 
questioning faith,  since  we  know  that,  however  incomprehensible, 
or,  to  our  dark  understandings,  seemingly  contradictory,  God's 
word  is  "  true  from  the  beginning."^Ps.  cxix.  160.  But  the  most 
fatal  objection  to  the  whole  scheme  occurs  in  the  fact,  that 
whilst  the  Scriptures  seem,  in  the  plainest  terms,  to  teach  a  very 
different  doctrine, — a  headship  real,  native  and  effectual  to  all 
the  ends  involved, — there  is  not  a  passage  which  intimates  the 
occurrence  of  such  an  investiture  as  is  here  supposed ; — an  in- 
vestiture by  positive  post-creative  agreement  or  decree.  They 
testify,  indeed,  abundantly  to  the  fact  that  God  did  enter  into 
covenant  with  Adam;  and  that,  in  all  the  provisions,  his  seed 
were  included  in  him.  But,  in  proportion  to  the  abundance  of 
evidence  on  these  points,  is  the  significance  of  the  fact,  that,  in 
it  all,  we  fail  to  find  a  hint  of  such  a  positive  provision,  as  is 
asserted  to  have  taken  place.  We  have  neither  record  of  Adam's 
official  appointment,  nor  of  his  acceptance  of  the  trust. 

In  contrast  with  the  entire  silence  of  the  Scriptures  on  this 
point,  let  the  reader  observe,  the  remarkable  manner  in  which 
the  Holy  Spirit  recurs,  again  and  again,  to  the  generative  con- 
stitution of  Adam.  It  is  foreshadowed  in  the  vegetation  which 
carpeted  and  adorned  the  earth,  (Gen.  i.  11,  12,)  and  in  the 
living  creatures  with  which  it  was  filled,  (Gen.  i.  22;)  in  regard 
to  whom  the  record  of  a  fact  of  this  kind, — a  fact  which  is 
patent  on  the  face  of  nature,  to  the  most  casual  observer; 
although  elsewhere,  so  far  as  we  know,  unparalleled  in  the 
universe, — is  entirely  unaccountable;  unless  designed  to  bear 
upon  the  similar  nature  of  man,  and  the  great  doctrines  which 
are  related  to  it.  It  is  proclaimed  of  man,  in  the  primary  act 
of  his  creation.  (Gen.  i.  27,  28.)  It  is  signalized  by  the  tem- 
porary solitude  of  Adam,  and  the  subsequent  formation  of  his 
wife,  "bone  of  his  bone  and  flesh  of  his  flesh."  (Gen.  ii.  18-24.) 
It  is  again  re-announced  as  the  fundamental  fact,  in  the  "  Book 


332  The  EloJiim  Revealed.  [chap.  x. 

of  the  Generations  of  Man,"  (Gen.  v.  1-3,) — the  fact  which  lies 
at  the  basis  of  the  whole  dark  history  of  our  race,  of  which  the 
fifth  chapter  of  Genesis  is  the  beginning.  Is  it  possible,  in  the 
presence  of  these  facts,  to  avoid  the  conclusion  that  the  genera- 
tive nature  of  Adam  filled,  in  the  mind  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  a 
place  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  proportioned  to  the  emphasis 
thus  given  to  it  on  the  front  of  the  record?  All  this,  with  the 
silence  maintained  respecting  such  a  positive  transaction  as  is 
supposed,  seems  plainly  to  imply,  that,  by  virtue  of  the  inscrip- 
tion of  the  covenant  in  his  generative  nature,  Adam's  posterity 
were,  in  him,  parties  to  it.  He  was  therefore  dealt  with  by  God, 
as  in  all  things,  natively  and  of  course,  the  head  and  repre- 
sentative of  the  race ;  and  this  for  the  reason  that  his  seed  were 
really  and  in  fact  in  him. 

It  may  be  well,  before  leaving  the  subject,  to  say  a  word  as 
to  the  relations  which  Eve  sustained  to  the  covenant  and  the 
?  8  Eve  part  representation  of  the  race.  The  covenant  was  made 
of  the  repre-   with  Adam,  in  his  creation ;  and  consequently  be- 

sentativehead.     forQ    gve  wag    forme(J    QU^  0f   ^jg    perSOll.       She    Was, 

therefore,  comprehended  originally  in  him.  When  she  was  taken 
out  of  his  side,  she  was  for  herself  at  once  a  party  to  the  cove- 
nant. But  not  only  was  she  a  distinct  person,  endowed  with 
individual  prerogatives  and  responsibilities ;  she  was  also  bone 
of  Adam's  bone,  and  flesh  of  his  flesh.  Conjointly  with  him,  she 
was  the  "Adam,"  of  whom  it  had  been  said,  "Let  them  have 
dominion"  by  multiplying  and  replenishing  the  earth.  Neither 
Adam  nor  Eve  separately  represented  the  race ;  but  both  con- 
jointly, as  from  both  that  race  was  to  flow.  This  joint  repre- 
sentation is  evident,  from  the  fact  that  each  incurred  peculiar 
elements  of  the  curse,  and  that  these  have  descended  in  their 
distinctive  form  to  their  seed.  God  recognised  in  Eve  a  repre- 
sentative position  when  he  said  to  her,  "  I  will  greatly  multiply 
thv  sorrow  and  thy  conception  :  in  sorrow  thou  shalt  bring  forth 
children ;  and  thy  desire  shall  be  to  thy  husband,  and  he  shall 
rule  over  thee,"  as  clearly  and  unequivocally  as  he  did  in  Adam, 
when  he  pronounced  upon  him  the  corresponding  curse.  Paul 
certainly  holds  the  woman  to  have  been  a  representative  head, 


sect,  vii.]    Adam  the  Covenant  Head  of  the  Race.  333 

when  lie  tells  Timothy,  "I  suffer  not  a  woman  to  teach,  nor  to 
usurp  authority  over  the  man,  but  to  be  in  silence.  For  Adam 
was  first  formed,  then  Eve.  And  Adam  was  not  deceived,  but 
the  woman  being  deceived  was  in  the  transgression." — 1  Tim.  ii. 
12-14.  The  same  conclusion  is  inevitably  involved  in  the  fact 
that  Christ  was  promised  distinctively  as  the  woman's  Seed,  to 
destroy  her  enemy  and  redeem  her  children.  The  relation 
which  the  Redeemer  sustained  to  the  woman's  sin  is  doubly  sig- 
nalized:— in  the  primeval  promise,  and  in  his  birth  of  a  virgin 
mother.  If  he  was  "made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law, 
to  redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law,"  the  conclusion  is  un- 
avoidable, that  they  who  were  under  the  curse  of  the  law,  were 
so  as  being  responsible  for  the  woman's  sin,  as  well  as  for  that 
into  which  she  seduced  her  husband. 

That  this  is  the  doctrine  of  the  whole  body  of  the  confessions — 
as  well  as  of  the  standard  writers — of  the  Reformed  church, 
is  certain.  Particularly  is  this  unquestionable  in  respect 
to  the  doctrinal  formularies  of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  as 
a  glance  at  them  will  demonstrate.*  How  perfectly  it  corre- 
sponds with  the  view  which  we  take  as  to  the  connection  be- 
tween Adam's  parental  and  federal  relations,  and  how  incon- 
gruous to  that  of  constructive  headship  which  we  have  here 
examined,  will  be  apparent  to  the  reader.  The  doctrine  is 
therefore  repudiated  by  those  who  embrace  the  constructive 
system.  Upon  that  theory,  it  is  held  that  if  Eve  had  sinned 
alone,  she  alone  would  have  perished,  and  the  race  would  have 
remained  uninjured ;  whilst  if  Adam  alone  had  sinned,  she  would 
have  survived,  but  he  and  his  seed  had  perished.  But  unless 
the  whole  idea  of  propagation  is  a  mere  dream,  and  the  exist- 
ence of  a  certain  number  and  set  of  persons  is  supposed  to  have 
been  so  predestined  as  to  be  accomplished  irrespective  of  in- 
strumentality, it  remains  that  the  sin  of  either  individual  alone 
would  have  precluded  the  existence  of  our  race;  since  it  must 
have  involved  the  separation  of  the  pair, — as  light  can  have  no 

*  Confession,  ch.  vi.  Larger  Catechism,  Qu.  26.  Brief  Sum  of  Christian  Doc- 
trine, Head  i.  \\  2,  3. 


334  TJie  Eloliim  Revealed.  chap.  x. 

fellowship  with  darkness.  The  Creator  might  have  realized  the 
fancy  of  Eve  as  represented  by  the  poet,  when  hesitating 
whether  to  make  her  husband  participant  in  her  fatal  luxury : — 

"  To  Adam  in  what  sort 
Shall  I  appear  ?     Shall  I  to  him  make  known 
As  yet  my  change,  and  give  him  to  partake 
Full  happiness  with  me  ?     Or  rather  not, 
But  keep  the  odds  of  knowledge  in  my  power 
Without  co-partner  ?     So  to  add  what  wants 
In  female  sex,  the  more  to  draw  his  love, 
And  render  me  more  equal,  and  perhaps — 
A  thing  not  undesirable — sometime 
Superior ;  for,  inferior,  who  is  free  ? 
This  may  be  well ;  but  what  if  God  have  seen, 
And  death  ensue  ?     Then  I  shall  be  no  more ; 
And  Adam,  wedded  to  another  Eve, 
Shall  live,  with  her  enjoying;  I  extinct." — Paradise  Lost,  Book  ix. 

But  the  offspring  of  "  another  Eve"  had  not  been  the  present 
population  of  the  earth.  "  In  the  day  that  God  created  man,  in 
the  likeness  of  God  made  he  him ;  male  and  female  created  he 
them,  and  blessed  them,  and  called  their  name  Adam." — Gen.  v. 
1,  2.  The  fall  of  Eve  alone  was  not  the  apostasy  of  the  race; 
nor  would  have  been  that  of  her  husband.  It  was  they  both  to 
whose  charge  was  intrusted  the  jewel  of  man's  integrity.  Thus 
was  a  double  barrier  set  around  it,  and  the  keys  placed  in  two 
several  hands,  without  whose  joint  concurrence  the  ruin  could 
not  be  wrought. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

EXTENT   OF   ADAM'S   PARENTAL   RELATION — ORIGIN   OF   THE 

SOUL. 

"Quidam  non  melius  posse  expediri  difBcultatem  [de  propagatione  peccati] 
arbitrati  sunt,  quam  per  animaa  traducem,  quam  non  pauci  ex  veteribus  cre- 
diderunt,  et  ipse  Augustinus  non  semel  eo  perpendere  videtur.  Nee  dubiuni 
est  quin  hac  ratione  omuis  sublata  videretur  difficultas." — Turrettini  Instit. 
Locus  IX.  Qtlest.  xii.  \  6. 

In  the  doctrine  of  the  Reformed  churches,  respecting  original 
sin,  our  relation  to  Adam,  as  the  federal  head  of  the  race,  is 
?  1  History  constantly  based  upon  his  causative  relation  to  us. 
of  the  doc-  His  posterity  were  in  him  as  their  cause,  and, 
irine'  therefore,  contemplated  as  one  with  him  in  all  God's 

dealings  with  him.  But,  although  the  Reformed  authorities 
are  unanimous  on  this  point,  some  of  those  writers  have  incau- 
tiously assumed  a  position  respecting  the  origin  of  the  soul, 
which  is  irreconcilable  with  the  doctrine  thus  set  forth.  The 
consequence  has  been,  that  the  whole  subject  is  obscured  with  sub- 
tleties borrowed  from  the  scholastic  philosophy,  which  have  been 
the  fruitful  cause  of  error,  and  of  apostasy  from  the  scriptural 
doctrine  of  original  sin.  In  what  sense,  and  how  far,  we  are 
the  children  of  Adam,  is  a  question  which  at  first  glance  might 
seem  to  admit  of  but  one  answer.  We  venture  to  express  the 
conviction  that  were  the  inquiry  proposed  to  the  great  body  of 
God's  people,  to  those  who  have  no  other  light  than  that  of  unper- 
verted  reason  and  the  word  of  God,  the  unanimous  reply  would 
be,  that  the  child  is  wholly  the  offspring  of  its  parents, — that  we 
are,  in  the  entireness  of  our  being,  the  children  of  Adam.  And 
this  we  believe  to  be  the  teaching  of  the  Scriptures,  clearly  and 
unequivocally  expressed,  and  the  testimony  of  sound  philosophy 

335 


336  The  Elolum  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

when  intelligently  examined.  Yet  human  ingenuity  has  in- 
vented a  number  of  theories  on  the  subject,  each  involving  an 
entirely  different  account  of  our  relation  to  Adam's  sin. 

Plato  supposed  all  human  souls  to  have  had  a  pre-existence, 
dwelling  in  some  glorious  and  suitable  mansion, — perhaps  among 
the  stars, — till,  growing  weary  of  heavenly  and  falling  in  love  with 
earthly  things,  they  were,  by  way  of  punishment,  cast  down  to  earth 
and  imprisoned  in  bodies.  A  slight  modification  of  this  notion  was 
espoused  by  Origen.  "  He  set  this  theory  of  the  pre-existence  of 
souls  in  opposition  to  creationism,  which  supposed  individual  souls 
to  arise  from  the  immediate  act  of  creation  on  the  part  of  God ; 
for  this  theory  appeared  to  him  irreconcilable  with  the  love  and 
justice  of  God,  which  maintains  itself  equally  toward  all  his 
creatures, — and  also  in  opposition  to  the  traducianism  of  Tertul- 
lian,  for  his  theory  appeared  to  him  too  sensuous.  Thus,  as  he, 
in  order  to  be  able  to  maintain,  his  theory  of  a  creation  which 
preceded  this  temporal  world,  without  prejudice  to  the  church 
doctrine,  appealed  to  the  circumstance  that  the  church  doctrine 
defined  nothing  concerning  that  point,  so  also  did  he  appeal  to 
the  same  circumstance  in  regard  to  his  own  peculiar  speculative 
theory  of  the  origin  of  souls.  In  the  doctrine,  however,  of  a  cor- 
ruption and  guilt  that  cleaved  to  human  nature  from  the  begin- 
ning, he  might, — exactly  as  the  North  African  church  teachers 
express  themselves, — he  might  speak  of  a  mystery  of  the  birth,  ac- 
cording to  which,  every  one  who  comes  into  the  world  needs  puri- 
fication, and  he  might  quote,  in  favour  of  this  view,  the  passages 
of  the  Bible  which  were  quoted  by  others  in  favour  of  the  doctrine 
of  original  sin.  But  he  felt  himself  obliged  to  deduce  this  condi- 
tion of  human  nature  from  another  source, — namely,  from  the 
proper  guilt  of  every  individual  fallen  heavenly  spirit,  contracted 
in  a  former  state  of  existence ;  and  hence,  according  to  the  theory 
of  Origen,  this  corruption  could  not  be  alike  in  all,  but  its  degree 
would  depend  on  the  degree  of  the  former  guiltiness.  Although 
he  accounted  Adam  as  an  historical  personage,  yet  he  could  be 
nothing  else  in  his  view  than  the  first  incarnate  soul  that  sunk 
down  from  the  heavenly  state  of  existence ;  he  must  have  looked 
upon  the  history  of  Paradise,  like  the  Gnostics,  as  being  symbolical, 


sect,  i.]        Extent  of  Adams  Parental  Relation.  337 

so  that  it  was  to  him  the  symbol  of  a  higher  spiritual  world, 
and  Adam  was  to  him  at  the  same  time  the  type  of  all  man- 
kind, of  all  fallen  souls."* 

This  theory  has  lately  had  a  transient  notoriety,  through  the 
advocacy  of  Dr.  Edward  Beecher  in  the  "  Conflict  of  Ages." 
The  few  by  whom  the  fancy  has  been  embraced,  have  not  pre- 
tended to  derive  any  countenance  for  it  from  the  word  of  God. 
Its  adoption  by  Origen  was  merely  one  example  of  a  tendency 
which  prevailed  among  the  Christian  teachers  of  that  age,  to 
incorporate  the  philosophy  of  heathenism  with  the  doctrines  of 
the  Bible, — a  tendency  which  filled  the  church  with  malignant 
heresies.  The  revival  in  our  own  time  of  so  absurd  and  effete 
a  figment  of  pagan  philosophy,  constitutes  avowedly  the  last 
resort  in  a  desperate  struggle  to  escape  from  the  scriptural  doc- 
trine of  original  sin.  We  shall  need  no  apology  for  leaving, 
without  argument,  a  fancy  which  has  not  found  a  voice  to  second 
its  resurrectionist  of  the  present  generation ;  and  which  is,  upon 
its  face,  both  irrational  and  unscriptural. 

Another  theory,  which  has  some  points  of  striking  similarity 
with  this,  is,  that  all  souls  were  created  at  the  beginning  of  the 
world,  together  with  the  angels,  and  the  soul  of  Adam ;  and  that 
they  are  kept  in  an  unconscious  state,  until  the  bodies  are  ready 
which  they  are  destined  to  inhabit.  Orthodox  writers,  who 
espouse  this  opinion,  hold  that  the  souls  thus  united  to  human 
bodies,  are,  at  the  instant  of  the  union,  as  a  penal  consequence 
of  Adam's  sin,  infected  with  moral  corruption,  and  involved  in 
the  penalty  of  eternal  death.  This  theory  is  thus  stated  by  the 
late  venerated  Dr.  Ashbel  Green  : — 

"Nothing  that  I  have  seen  on  the  subject  [of  the  transmission 
of  a  corrupt  nature  from  Adam] — and  much  has  been  written 
on  it — has  appeared  to  me  so  pertinent  as  the  following  remarks 
of  Dr.  Witherspoon ;  and  I  only  regret  that  he  has  not  given 
more  expansion  to  the  few  important  and  judicious  observations 
which  I  shall  now  repeat.  He  says,  'As  to  the  transmission 
of  original  sin,  the  question    is,  to-be-sure,  difficult;    and  we 

*  Neander's  Church  History,  Sec.  V.  \  3,  Phila.,  1843,  p.  392. 
22 


338  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

ought  to  be  reserved  upon  the  subject.  St.  Augustine  said,  it 
was  of  more  consequence  to  know  how  we  are  delivered  from 
sin  by  Christ,  than  how  we  derive  it  from  Adam.  Yet  we  shall 
say  a  few  words  on  this  topic.  It  seems  to  be  agreed  by  the 
greatest  part,  that  the  soul  is  not  derived  from  our  parents,  by 
natural  generation;  and  yet  it  seems  not  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  the  soul  is  created  impure.  Therefore  it  should  follow,  that 
a  general  corruption  is  communicated  by  the  body;  and  that 
there  is  so  close  a  union  between  the  soul  and  body,  that  the 
impressions  conveyed  to  us  through  the  bodily  organs,  do  tend 
to  attach  the  affections  of  the  soul  to  things  earthly  and  sensible. 
If  it  should  be  said  that  the  soul,  on  this  supposition,  must  be 
united  to  the  body  as  an  act  of  punishment  or  severity ;  I  would 
answer,  that  the  soul  is  united  to  the  body  as  an  act  of  govern- 
ment, by  which  the  Creator  decreed  that  men  should  be  pro- 
pagated by  way  of  natural  generation.  And  many  have  supposed 
that  the  souls  of  all  men  that  ever  shall  be,  were  created  at  the 
beginning  of  the  world,  and  gradually  came  to  the  exercise  of 
their  powers  as  the  bodies  came  into  existence  to  which  they 
belong.'  Agreeing,  as  I  do  fully,  with  what  is  here  stated,  I 
shall  do  nothing  more  than  enlarge  a  little  on  the  ideas  suggested 
in  the  quotation.  .  .  .  Although  the  Scripture  does  not  tell  us 
how  the  depravity  of  man  is  transmitted  from  parents  to  their 
offspring,  it  says  enough,  I  apprehend,  to  show,  that  the  soul  is 
not  derived  from  the  parents,  like  the  body, — that  the  soul  is  not 
created  impure.  .  .  .  On  the  whole,  if  we  must  speculate  and 
form  a  theory  on  this  subject,  the  safest  and  most  rational  is  to 
suppose  that  all  souls  were  created  at  the  beginning  of  the  world ; 
that  they  remain  in  a  quiescent  state,  till  the  bodies  which  they 
are  to  inhabit  are  formed ;  that  on  union  with  these  bodies,  they 
receive  all  their  original  impressions,  by  means  of  the  external 
senses ;  that  the  whole  system  of  the  bodily  appetites  and  pro- 
pensities, with  the  fancy  or  imagination,  which  is  closely  con- 
nected with  them,  having  become  irregular,  excessive  and  per- 
verted by  the  fall,  do  unavoidably  corrupt  the  soul,  and  enslave 
it  to  sin.  This  appears  to  me  a  safe  theory,  and  far  more 
rational  than   either   the   system  of   the  materialists,  or  that 


sect,  i.]       Extent  of  Adams  Parental  Relation.  339 

which  supposes  the  unceasing  creation  of  souls.  So  far  as  it 
relates  to  the  manner  in  which  the  soul  is  corrupted  by  the 
body,  it  seems  to  me  to  coincide  with  the  numerous  expressions 
of  St.  Paul — perhaps  to  be  countenanced  by  those  expressions — 
in  which  a  carnal  or  fleshly  mind  is  put  for  human  depravity. 
By  this  apostle,  the  whole  embodied  principles  of  sin  are  empha- 
tically denominated,  the  flesh : — '  The  flesh  lusteth  against  the 
Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  against  the  flesh,  and  these  are  contrary 
the  one  to  the  other ;  so  that  ye  cannot  do  the  things  that  ye 
would.'  For  some  reason  or  other,  the  flesh  is  here  represented 
as  the  source  and  seat  of  sin."* 

This  theory  is  essentially  the  same  with  that  which  Leibnitz 
propounds,  in  his  Theodicsese,  as  a  medium  between  the  idea  of  suc- 
cessive creations  of  souls,  and  that  of  traduction : — "Quin  immo 
medium  quendam  indicavi  modum  inter  creationem  omnimodam, 
et  praeexistentiam  perfectam,  arbitratus  congrue  dici  posse  quod 
anima  praeexistens  in  seminibus,  ab  initio  non  fuerit,  nisi  sen- 
sitiva;  sed  deinde  ad  superiorem  rationis  gradum  elevata,  post- 
quam  homo  ille,  cujus  futura  erat  anima,  conceptus  fuisset, 
quodque  corpus  organicum,f  huic  animas  semper  ab  initio 
copulatum,  post  multas  denique  mutationes,  determinatum 
fuerit  ad  formandum  corpus  humanum.  Judicavi  etiam  hanc 
animse  sensativae  elevationem  (quag  ipsam  promovet  ad  gradum 
essentialem  magis  sublimem,  hoc  est,  ad  rationem)  extraordi- 
nariee  Dei  operationi  adscribi  posse.  Juverit  tamen  addere, 
quod  mallem  hominis  perinde,  atque  aliorum  animalium,  gene- 
rationem  sine  miraculo  statuere :  quod  ipsum  utcunque  explicari 
poterit,  si  concipias,  e  magno  illo  animarum  et  animalium,  vel 
saltern  corporum  organicorum,  vitam  habentium,  et  in  seminibus 
latentium,  numero  solas  animas,  naturae  animae  destinatas,  ra- 
tionem involvere,  suo  tempore  proditurum,  et  corpora  organica 
sola  esse  praeformata  atque  praedisposita  ad  suscipiendam  ali- 
quando  formam  humanam,  dum  interim  animalcula,  sive  viventia 

*  Green's  Lectures  on  the  Catechism,  Board  of  Pub.,  vol.  i.  p.  267. 

f  Leibnitz  held  all  created  spirits  to  be  inseparably  invested  with  subtle 
bodies,  which  he  calls  corpora  organica.  See  his  Correspondence  with  Clarke, 
p.  221. 


340  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

seminalia,  in  quibus  nihil  ejusmodi  prsestabilitum  est,  a  prioribus 
illis  essentialiter  discrepant,  et  in  genere  inferiore  sunt  consti- 
tuta.  Hsec  productio  tradux  quidam  erit;  sed  paullo  tracta- 
bilior,  quam  qui  vulgo  ponitur,  non  animse  ex  anima,  sed  animati 
ex  animato,  ac  frequentia  novse  creationis  miracula  evitans 
quibus  anima  noviter  creata  ac  pura  in  corpus  illam  corrup- 
turum,  immitteretur."* 

Others,  who  hold  the  souls  to  be  products  of  God's  immediate 
creative  power,  suppose  them  to  be  made  from  time  to  time,  when 
the  bodies  are  ready  to  receive  them. 

Among  those  who  deny  immediate  creation,  some  have  sup- 
posed the  soul  of  the  child  to  be  derived  by  subdivision  and 
separation  from  that  of  the  parent.  Upon  this  view,  the  soul 
of  each  one  of  the  human  race  was  embodied  in  Adam,  as  part 
and  parcel  of  his  soul;  and  that,  not  seminally  or  potentially, 
but  actually,  and  in  esse.  It  would  hence  result,  that  Adam  was 
literally  the  person  of  all  men ;  and,  each  individual  of  the  race 
being  thus  part  of  his  person,  his  sins — not  the  first  only,  but 
all  that  he  committed,  prior  to  their  several  genesis  from  him — 
were  the  sins  of  his  posterity,  in  the  same  sense  in  which  they 
were  his.  Not  only  so ;  but,  by  parity  of  reasoning,  each  indi- 
vidual of  the  race,  in  addition,  bears  in  like  manner  the  responsi- 
bility and  is  implicated  in  the  guilt  of  the  sins  committed  by 
each  and  all  of  his  ancestors,  back  to  the  first,  the  universal 
man. 

Rejecting  all  these  theories,  as  well  as  every  other  which 
attempts  to  explain  the  precise  manner  in  which  the  phenomenon 
of  propagation  takes  place, — whether  by  appeal  to  the  illustra- 
tion of  lux  ex  lumine,  or  in  whatever  other  way, — we  take  the 
position,  that  the  entire  man  proceeds  by  generation  from  the 
parents.  We  do  not  say — we  clo  not  mean — that  the  soul  is 
generated  by  the  soul,  or  the  body  by  the  body.  But  man,  in 
his  "soul,  body  and  spirit,"  is  a  unit,  composed  of  diverse 
elements,  yet  having  but  one  personality,  in  which  the  soul  is 
the  element  of  universal  efficiency.    Of  that  personality,  efficient 

*  Leibnitii  Tentamina  Tlieodicaeae,  Pars  Tertia,  \  397. 


sect,  i.]       Extent  of  Adams  Parental  Relation.  341 

thus,  it  is  that  we  predicate  generation ;  and,  according  to  the 
maxim  that  like  begets  like,  we  hold  the  child,  in  its  entire 
nature,  to  be  the  offspring  of  the  parents.  The  entire  race  of 
man  was  in  our  first  parents,  not  individually  and  personally, 
but  natively  and  seminally,  as  the  plant  is  in  the  seed.  When 
Adam  was  created,  among  the  powers  which  constituted  his 
nature,  was  that  of  generation.  His  substance  was  made  to  be 
an  efficient  cause,  of  which  his  posterity,  taken  in  their  whole 
being,  physical  and  spiritual,  are  the  normal  and  necessary 
effect.  Thus,  in  Adam  and  Eve,  the  human  race  had  not  a 
potential  existence,  merely ;  but  God,  in  creating  the  first  pair, 
put  into  efficient  operation  the  sufficient  and  entire  cause  of  the 
existence  of  their  seed.  If  we  may  so  speak,  theirs  was  not  a 
nature  capable  merely  of  propagation,  it  was  propagative ; — by 
the  very  constitution  of  their  being,  as  well  as  by  the  command 
and  blessing  of  their  Maker,  they  were  destined  to  multiply  and 
fill  the  earth. 

This  doctrine,  of  the  generation  of  the  entire  man  from  the 
parents,  has  commanded  the  suffrages  of  many  of  the  ablest  and 
best  of  the  orthodox  divines,  in  every  age  of  the  church.  Early 
promulgated  by  Tertullian  and  others  of  the  fathers,  and 
strongly  countenanced  by  Augustine,  it  was  espoused,  at  the 
Reformation,  by  the  greater  part  of  the  Lutheran  divines,  and 
many  of  the  Reformed.  On  the  contrary,  it  has  been  de- 
nounced, with  unanimous  hostility,  by  Pelagians,  Socinians,  and 
every  class  of  opposers  of  the  doctrine  of  original  sin. 

In  the  present  discussion,  we  shall  first  examine  the  principal 
objections  which  are  usually  urged.  These  being  obviated,  our 
?  2.  Amu-  readers  will  be  prepared  to  attend  without  prejudice 
mem*  against  to  the  affirmative  evidence  which  will  then  be  pre- 
propagatwn.  Sented.  Two  or  three  brief  citations  from  opposing 
writers  will  exhibit,  in  unexceptionable  form,  the  strength  of 
the  argument  against  our  doctrine.  Our  first  quotation  is  from 
Robert  Baronius,  an  eminent  metaphysician  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  Professor  of  Divinity  in  Marischal  College,  Aberdeen, 
Scotland : — 

"  Various  arguments  are  urged,  both  by  philosophers  and 


342  The  Eloltim  Revealed,  [chap.  xi. 

divines,  to  demonstrate  souls  to  be  created  immediately  by  God, 
and  not  educed  from  the  power  of  matter.  The  first  is  this  : — 
If  the  soul  is  generable,  it  will  be  corruptible ;  but  the  latter  is 
absurd;  therefore  also  the  former.  The  reason  of  the  major  is 
this : — That  form*  which  so  depends  upon  matter,  that  it  may 
be  produced  by  the  occurrence  of  a  material  cause,  in  generation, 
will  thus  also  be  so  dependent  on  matter,  that  if  it  be  separated 
from  the  matter  which  conferred  and  continued  its  existence,  it 
of  necessity  must  perish.  .  .  .  Philosophers  and  theologians,  when 
they  divide  substances  into  eternal  and  perishable,  do  not  mean 
any  substance  to  be  therefore  eternal,  because  it  is  independent 
of  God's  sustaining  power ;  but  because  they  cannot  be  destroyed 
by  any  action  of  any  creature.  But,  in  this  way,  not  only  the 
angels  and  the  heavens,  but  the  rational  soul,  may  be  called 
incorruptible.  Further,  they  who  respond  thus  [that  the  soul 
is  eternal  merely  by  the  conservation  of  God]  cannot  deny  the 
human  soul  to  be  such  that  no  physical  or  material  action  can 
destroy  it ;  whence  I  infer  it  impossible  to  produce  it  by  any 
physical  or  material  action.  For  what  is  the  reason  that  by  no 
physical  or  material  agency  can  it  be  destroyed?  Is  it  not 
because  it  is  a  spiritual  substance  ?  But,  for  the  same  reason, 
it  can  be  produced  by  no  material  power ;  and  that,  because  it 
is  repugnant  to  a  spiritual  nature  to  be  produced  by  any 
material  or  physical  action.  But  generation  is  a  physical  and, 
material  action,  both  because  it  occurs  in  matter,  and  because 
it  is  by  a  material  force,  to  wit,  the  seminal  power. 

"The  second  reason  against  this  sentiment  is  this: — It  is  the 
will  of  God  that  souls  should  subsist  after  death,  separate  from 
the  body ;  but  the  spirits  of  the  beasts  to  perish  with  the  bodies. 


*  "  Aristotle,  and  the  schools  after  him,  called  that  a,  form  which  is  the  prin- 
ciple of  action,  and  in  which  is  involved  that  which  is  acted.  This  internal 
principle  is  substantial  or  primitive,  which  is  called  a  soul,  when  it  energizes 
an  organic  body  ;  or  accidental,  which  is  called  quality.  The  same  philosopher 
gave  the  soul  the  generic  name  of  force.  A  permanent  and  enduring  force  is 
nothing  else  than  the  form,  whether  substantial  or  accidental ;  a  substantial 
form,  the  soul,  for  example,  is  altogether  permanent,  as  I  suppose ;  and  an 
accidental  form  only  remains  for  a  time." — Leibnitii  Tent.  Theod.   \  87. 


sect,  ii.]      Extent  of  Ada  ins  Parental  Relation.  343 

Therefore  lie  has  given  the  rational  soul  a  nature  which  is  inde- 
pendent of  physical  matter,  that  by  reason  of  its  nature  it  may 
be  able  to  exist  separate  from  the  material  body.  Whence  I 
infer  the  soul,  as  to  its  nature,  to  be  independent  of  the  material 
body.  .  .  .  But  if  matter  concurs  to  giving  it  existence,  the  soul  as 
to  its  existence  (quoad  suum  esse),  must  depend  upon  matter. 

"Third.  No  active  force  can  operate  beyond  its  own  genus. 
But  the  thinking  soul  surpasses  the  whole  genus  of  physical 
nature,  since  it  is  a  spiritual  substance.  Therefore  no  corporeal 
force  can  avail  to  the  production  of  the  soul.  But  every  exer- 
tion of  the  seminal  faculty  is  from  a  corporeal  force.  Therefore 
it  is  impossible  that  the  thinking  soul  should  be  produced  by 
that  force;  for  thus  an  agent  might  produce  an  effect  which  in 
the  scale  of  nature  is  far  more  excellent  and  perfect  than  itself."* 

Peter  Molinaeus,  in  his  work  in  defence  of  the  Synod  of  Dort, 
presents  the  following  array  of  arguments : — "  Statuimus  animam 
rationalem  infundi  in  embryonem,  non  quidem  ftupadev  ineiaci^ac, 
ut  vult  Aristoteles,  1.  2,  De  Greneratione  Animalium,  cap.  3. 
Sed  putamus  a  Deo  in  ipso  fcetu  et  humani  corporis  rudimento 
formari,  ducti  auctoritate  Scripturse.  .  .  .  Sed  et  Verbo  Dei  ratio 
ipsa  suffragatur.  1.  Anima  enim  quae  est  aliquid  supra  natu- 
ram,  non  potest  lege  communi  cum  cseteris  rebus  naturalibus 
generari.  2.  Nee  quod  est  immateriale  potest  educi  de  potentia 
materise.  3.  Ac  omnino  si  anima  non  generaretur  nisi  per 
corpus,  non  posset  existere  extra  corpus,  nee  per  se  sola  subsis- 
tere.  4.  Turn  qui  volunt  animam  traduci  per  semen  sese  cogunt 
in  angustias,  quibus  impossibile  est  se  expediant.  Nam  cur 
anima  matris  non  traducetur  quoque  in  filium  ?  Aut  si  anima 
filii  ab  anima  tarn  matris  quam  patris  traducitur,  necesse  erit  ut 
duoe  animse  in  unam  coalescant  et  misceantur.  5.  Quid  autem  fiet 
tot  seminibus  irritis  ?  .  .  .  An  totidem  animae  humanse  intercidunt, 
aut  in  utero  suffocabantur  ?  An  solse  permanebunt  extra  mate- 
riam;  cum  certum  sit  eas  ad  numerum  hominum  non  pertinere? 
6.  Turn  necesse  est  vel  totam  animam  patris  traduci,  et  sic  pater 
net  exanimis;  vel  portionem  animge,  et  sic  anima  erit  divisibilis. 

*  Rob.    Baronii    Metaphysica  Generalis,  Cantab.  1685,  p.  222. 


344  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

7.  Nee  vero  potest  anima  tota  transmitti,  veluti  cum  lumen  ac- 
cenditur  de  lumine;  nam  talis  propagatio  sit  transmutatione  ad- 
motas  materise;  et  sic  materia  admota  animae  generanti  in  animam 
verteretur.  8.  Quod  si  vera  est  definitio  anima?  ab  Aristotele  po- 
sita  lib.  2.  De  Anima,  c.  1,  et  passim  recepta,  quae  definit  animam 
esse, — '  Primum  actum  corporis  naturalis  organici,  vitam  habentis 
in  potentia,' — non  video  quomodo  anima  rationalis  possit  infor- 
mare  semen,  in  quo  nulla  sunt  organa."* 

Turrettin  says,  "We  prove  the  creation  of  souls: — 1.  By 
the  law  of  creation; — 2.  By  the  testimony  of  Scripture; — 3.  By 
reason.  From  the  law  of  creation,  because  our  souls  must  have 
the  same  origin  with  Adam's,  not  only  since  we  must  bear  his 
image,  1  Cor.  xv.  47,  48,  but  also  because  his  creation,  as  of  the 
first  one  of  the  species,  is  an  example  of  the  creation  of  all  men ; 
as  the  marriage  of  the  first  parents  was  an  example  to  those  that 
followed.  But  the  soul  of  Adam  was  immediately  created  by 
God,  when  he  breathed  into  Adam's  nostrils  the  breath  of  life, 
Gen.  ii.  7,  that  it  might  be  evident  that  his  soul  was  not  educed 
from  the  power  of  matter;  but  that  it  came  extrinsically, 
through  creation,  and  was  infused  into  his  body  by  the  breath 
of  God.  Nor  may  it  be  objected,  that  the  argument  will  not 
hold  from  Adam  to  us,  since  the  same  thing  may  be  said  re- 
specting the  origin  of  the  body;  which  cannot  be,  since  our 
bodies  are  generated,  but  Adam's  created  of  the  dust  of  the 
ground : — for  although  there  is  a  disparity  with  respect  to  the 
efficient  cause,  on  account  of  the  difference  of  the  subjects,  be- 
cause, as  the  body  is  elementary  and  material,  it  may  be  produced 
by  generation,  but  the  soul,  as  being  immaterial  and  simple, 
cannot  arise  otherwise  than  from  the  creative  power  of  God, — 
yet  in  respect  to  the  material  cause,  a  comparison  may  rightly 
be  made.  For  as  the  soul  of  Adam  was  created  of  nothing,  so 
also  the  souls  of  his  posterity ;  and  as  his  body  was  formed  from 
the  dust  of  the  ground,  so  also  our  bodies  are  formed  from  seed, 

*  Anatome  Arminianismi ;  seu  Eneucleatio  Controversiarum  quae  in  Belgio 
agitantur.  .  .  .  Authore  Petro  Molinseo,  pastor  ecclesiae  Parisiensis,  Lugduni 
Batavorum,  clolocxxi.  pp.  49,  50. 


sect,  ii.]      Extent  of  Adam's  Parental  Relation.  345 

■which,  is  earthly  and  material.  Therefore,  although  the  mode 
of  action  was  peculiar  in  respect  to  Adam,  the  nature  of  the 
thing  is  the  same  in  every  case.  The  same  is  confirmed  from 
the  creation  of  Eve,  whose  origin  as  to  her  body  is  described 
from  a  rib  of  Adam,  but  of  her  soul  there  is  no  mention. 
Whence  it  may  plainly  be  gathered,  that  the  origin  of  Eve's 
soul  was  not  different  from  Adam's,  because  otherwise  Moses 
would  not  have  failed  to  state  it,  since  he  undertook  to  describe 
the  first  origin  of  all  things ;  and  Adam  himself  would  not  have 
been  ignorant  of  her  origin,  yea,  would  have  proclaimed  it.  He 
would  not  only  have  said,  '  This  is  bone  of  my  bone,  and  flesh  of 
my  flesh,'  but  also,  'soul  of  my  soul,'  Gen.  ii.  23 ;  which  would  have 
been  more  forcible  for  expressing  the  bond  of  marriage,  which 
not  only  is  over  the  body,  but  the  soul.  In  fine,  if  Adam's  soul 
and  ours  are  of  different  origin,  they  could  not  be  classed  in  the 
same  species,  because  the  one  would  be  from  nothing,  but  the 
others  out  of  pre-existent  substance,  evidently  different."* 

A  recent  writer  presents  the  following  objections  to  our  doc- 
trine:— "First.  It  is  difficult  to  guard  it  from  running  into  a 
view  of  the  soul  as  material  and  corporeal,  as  compounded, 
divisible,  and  of  course  exposed  to  decay.  Even  the  ingenious 
analogies  of  the  ancient  writers,  such  as  that  of  '  lux  ex 
lumine,'  do  not  relieve  the  theory  of  this  materialistic  tendency. 
Second.  There  are  many  passages  of  Scripture  which  are  care- 
ful to  ascribe  the  creation  of  the  soul  immediately,  and  in 
a  high  sense,  to  God.  The  following  may  be  consulted  : — Num. 
xvi.  22;  Ps.  xxxiii.  15;  Eccl.  iii.  21,  xii.  7;  Isa.  lvii.  16;  and  Zech. 
xii.  1.  Third.  The  soul  of  Christ  was  evidently  not  thus  de- 
rived, but  was  immediately  created.  Yet  he  is  said  to  have 
been  made  in  all  points  like  us,  sin  excepted.  At  least,  he 
should  have  the  two  parts  of  human  nature  substantially  like 
ourselves.  His  body  was  formed  supernaturally,  indeed,  yet 
still  from  the  body  of  the  woman ;  and,  by  parity  of  reason,  we 
may  infer  the  immediate  creation  of  all  human  souls  from  the 
immediate  creation  of  his.  Fourth.  The  correlative  doctrine 
of  justification  through  the  righteousness  of  Christ  effectually 

*  Turrettini  Inst.,  Loc.  V.,  Qusest.  xiii.  \  3. 


.346  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

displaces  this  dogma  of  condemnation  because  of  a  physically 
generated,  sinful  soul.  "We  are  justified  in  Christ  clearly  upon 
the  same  principles  by  which  we  are  condemned  in  Adam.  But 
there  is  only  a  moral  or  spiritual  connection  between  Christ  and 
his  seed ;  which  renders  it  plain  that,  however  a  physical  gene- 
ration of  the  body  may  be  the  medium  of  transmission,  the 
reason  of  the  transmission  is  to  be  found  in  the  moral  relation 
of  the  race  to  the  first  man."* 

Of  the  arguments  here  set  forth,  the  remark  is  obvious, — that 
they  are  largely  made  up  of  dicta  of  the  scholastic  philosophy, 
„     T,  which  assume  the  thing  to  be  proved,  are  any  thing 

guments  un-  but  self-evident,  and  are  incapable  of  demonstra- 
tenabie.  ^ion.     Such  are  the  propositions,  that  whatever  is 

generable  is  corruptible;  that  the  soul  is  something  above 
nature,  and  therefore  incapable  of  generation  by  a  natural 
power;  and  that  every  exertion  of  the  generative  faculty  is 
from  a  merely  physical  force.  In  fact,  Turretin,  with  calm 
unconsciousness,  states  as  an  unquestionable  proposition,  and 
an  element  of  his  argument,  the  very  thing  which  he  had  set 
out  to  prove,  that  "  the  soul,  as  being  immaterial  and  simple, 
cannot  arise  otherwise  than  from  the  creative  power  of  God." 
But,  passing  by  these  points  for  the  present,  there  are  two  pro- 
positions here  assumed  as  true,  each  of  which  is  demonstrably 
false,  and  each  of  which  is  fundamental  to  the  whole  argument 
and  essential  to  the  conclusion.  These  are, — that  the  pheno- 
mena of  generation  are  so  entirely  within  the  reach  of  compre- 
hension, that  if  we  are  unable  to  explain  the  mode  in  which  a  soul 
may  be  begotten,  we  by  that  confession  of  ignorance  forfeit  our 
cause;  and, — that  the  process  is  purely  physical.  An  air  is 
assumed  of  intimate  familiarity  with  the  whole  rationale  of  the 
matter ; — a  familiarity  which  is  not  only  unattained,  but  unat- 
tainable. Take,  by  way  of  illustration,  one  of  the  simplest 
forms  of  propagation  in  physical  nature, — the  impregnation  of 
the  germen  of  a  plant  by  the  pollen.  "The  anthers  consist  of 
many  minute  cells,  or  compartments,  formed  by  membranous 
partitions.     At  the  proper  season,  the  anthers  burst  longitu- 

*  Southern  Presbyterian  Review,  March,  1848,  page  123. 


sect,  ii.]      Extent  of  Adams  Parental  Relation.  347 

dinally,  and  the  little  capsules  or  vessels  called  the  pollen,  are 
discharged  in  the  form  of  yellow  dust.  A  grain,  or  many 
grains,  of  the  pollen,  falling  on  the  stigma,  there  bursts,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  moisture  of  dew  or  rain,  and  discharges  its 
fluid  contents.  This  fluid  is  then  conveyed,  by  means  of  the 
absorbent  vessels,  or  channels  of  the  stigma  and  style,  to  the 
germen,  or  embryo  seed-vessel,  and  thus,  in  an  unknown  and 
mysterious  manner,  renders  the  seeds  fertile  or  prolific."*  Such 
is  the  utmost  extent  of  our  information  on  this  subject,  where 
we  know  the  most.  "We  can  analyze  the  mechanism  of  the 
plant,  and  trace  the  appearances  presented,  at  successive  stages 
in  the  progress  of  the  phenomenon ;  but  how  the  several  parts 
are  prepared,  how  the  fertile  result  is  obtained,  is  a  secret  of 
which  we  know  nothing.  "If  we  ask,  what  is  that  force  which 
is  potential  to  development,  to  increase,  to  growth  properly  so 
called,  we  are  led  to  the  very  edge  of  creation ;  the  existence  of 
cause  is  suggested,  and  we  are  made  to  feel  that,  though,  as  to 
the  true  nature  of  that,  there  is  but  a  hair's  breadth  between 
us  and  perfect  knowledge, — :full  revelation  of  the  great  mystery 
into  which  the  mightiest  intellects  of  earth  have  earnestly  desired 
to  penetrate, — yet  we  cannot,  it  is  not  in  the  nature  of  things 
that  we  ever  should,  pass  over  this  narrow  threshold  and  stand 
on  the  same  platform  with  the  Fountain  of  Life,  where  the 
light  shineth,  and  where  there  are  no  shadows,  no  mysteries;  for 
He  knoweth  all  things.  .  .  .  '  The  ablest  endeavours,'  says  Owen, 
finely,  '  to  penetrate  to  the  beginning  of  things,  do  but  carry  us, 
when  most  successful,  a  few  steps  nearer  that  beginning,  and 
then  leave  us  on  the  verge  of  a  boundless  ocean  of  the  unknown 
truth,  dividing  the  secondary  or  subordinate  phenomena  in  the 
chain  of  causation  from  the  First  Great  Cause.'"!      And  yet 

*  Comstock's  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Botany,  1847,  p.  65. 

|  North  British  Review,  1858,  vol.  xxviii.  p.  180.  The  article  quoted  in 
the  text  contains  some  remarkable  illustrations  of  the  amazing  and  inscrutable 
phenomena  of  nature.  We  subjoin  a  single  example  on  the  subject  of  the  par- 
thenogenesis, or  virgin  propagation,  of  some  species  of  insects.  "  It  finds  a 
striking  illustration  among  the  aphides,  or  plant-lice.  The  eggs  are  deposited  in 
the  leaf-axils,  and  in  spring  wingless  six-footed  larvse  are  developed  from  them. 
These  again  will  produce  a  succession  of  broods  without  any  connection  with 


348  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

writers,  who  cannot  tell  how  it  is  that  the  solitary  aphis  can 
become  the  parent  of  its  myriad  offspring,  nor  how  the  bloom 
of  the  strawberry  becomes  pregnant  with  the  luscious  fruit,  al- 
though the  whole  process  is  open  to  their  most  vigilant  obser- 
vation, will  deny  it  to  be  possible  that  the  soul  is  generated, 
because  we  cannot  explain  the  mode  of  its  occurrence ! 

But,  whilst  "  Mystery"  is  thus  inscribed  upon  the  doors  of 
nature's  workshop,  there  is  one  thing  which  a  moment's  judi- 
cious observation  conclusively  establishes.  It  is  this : — that 
the  process  is  not,  even  in  the  vegetable  world,  one  merely 
physical :  it  is  not  the  mere  composition  and  combination  of 
material  substances.  The  strawberry  is  something  very  dif- 
ferent from  a  mere  mixture  of  pollen  and  germen.  Distinct 
from  all  the  material  elements  which  are  involved,  and  con- 
trolling them  all,  there  is  a  something  which  has  none  of  the  cha- 
racteristics of  matter, — a  plastic  force,  which,  sitting  enshrined 
and  invisible  within,  rules  and  controls  the  whole  process,  and 
is  a  cause  sine  qua  non,  without  which  no  single  step  in  the 
process  would  ever  take  place.  Or  perhaps  we  should  rather 
say  there  are  two  forces  here  involved,  one  dwelling  in  the 
germen  and  its  auxiliary  organs,  the  other  in  the  stamens.  By 
these  forces  the  several  organs  of  the  plant  are  prepared  to  take 
their  distinctive  part  in  the  wonderful  process;  until,  the  time 
having  come,  the  combination  of  the  two  constitutes  a  third 
force,  by  the  agency  of  which  the  new  plant  is  by  degrees  un- 

the  males.  If  the  virgin  progeny  be  kept  apart,  the  parthenogenesis,  or  true 
virgin  birth,  will  go  on  even  to  the  eleventh  generation.  A  provision  is  thus 
made  for  their  multiplication  to  an  extent  scarcely  credible.  In  Lecture  XVIII. 
of  the  comparative  anatomy  of  the  invertebrata,  Owen  has  made  the  following 
calculation  of  the  rate  of  increase : — '  The  aphis  lanigera  produces  each  year 
ten  viviparous  broods,  and  one  which  is  oviparous ;  and  each  generation  ave- 
rages one  hundred  individuals. 


1st  generation, 

1  aphis. 

6th  gen. 

10,000,000,000 

2d 

100 

7th    " 

1,000,000,000,000 

3d 

10,000 

8th    " 

100,000,000,000,000 

4th         " 

1,000,000 

9th    " 

10,000,000,000,000,000 

5th 

100,000,000 

10th    " 

1,000,000,000,000,000,000 

If  the  oviparous  generation  be  added  to  this,  you  will  have  a  thirty  times  greater 
result.'  " 


sect,  in.]    Extent  of  Adams  Parental  Relation.  349 

folded  and  built  up.  Instead,  therefore,  of  its  being  unques- 
tionably true  that  propagation  is  a  purely  physical  phenomenon, 
— a  subdivision  and  combination  of  material  particles, — it  would 
be  much  easier  to  sustain  the  proposition,  that  in  no  case  is 
it  predicable  of  mere  matter.  The  corporeal  elements  seem  to 
constitute  the  mere  materials  which  the  generative  force  seizes 
and  shapes  to  its  uses.  So  it  is  in  the  vegetable  world,  as  we 
have  here  sufficiently  seen.  So  it  is  in  the  animal  tribes,  among 
whom  none  will  deny  the  entire  animal  to  proceed  from  the 
parents,  by  generation.  Yet,  in  them,  thus  propagated,  there 
is  not  only  the  material  body,  but  a  spirit  too ;  which  is  indeed 
perishable,  but  is  as  certainly  immaterial.  He  who  denies  this 
must  repudiate  the  scriptural  definition  of  a  spirit,  and  is 
reduced  to  the  conclusion  that  the  exercises  of  animal  reason 
and  reflection  are  phenomena  of  mere  matter, — an  admission 
which  is  near  akin  to  the  denial  of  the  immateriality  of  the 
human  soul.  "  Who  knoweth  the  spirit  of  man  that  goeth 
upward,"  says  the  Preacher,  "and  the  spirit  of  the  beast  that 
goeth  downward  to  the  earth  ?" — Eccl.  iii.  21.  Says  our  Sa- 
viour, "  A  spirit  hath  not  flesh  and  bones." — Luke  xxiv.  39. 
He,  on  the  other  hand,  who  admits  that  the  spirit  of  the  beast 
is  immaterial,  must  at  once  acknowledge  that  generation  is  pre- 
dicable of  immaterial  spirits.  Generation  does  not,  then,  imply 
the  subdivision  of  the  parental  spirits,  nor  the  composition  of 
that  of  the  offspring. 

But  it  will  be  said,  that  if  our  view  does  not  lead  to  material- 
ism, at  least  it  robs  the  soul  of  immortality;  for,  says  Baronius, 
"that  which  is  generable  is  corruptible."  By  what  process  of 
reasoning  will  this  be  made  to  appear  ?  Is  it  pretended  that  the 
Creator  is  not  capable,  by  means  of  propagation,  to  begin  an 
immortal  existence  in  a  creature  ?  Or  has  he  declared  that  he 
will  not  ?  It  is  true,  that  what  is  generable  may  possibly  be  cor- 
ruptible. But,  to  fulfil  the  design  of  the  dictum  before  us,  it  must 
be  shown  that  it  cannot  be  otherwise.  And  the  assertion  that  it 
maybe  so,  is  no  less  true  of  whatever  has  a  beginning  at  all,  than 
of  that  in  which  the  beginning  is  by  generation.  Necessary  eter- 
nity is  a  prerogative  of  God,  "who  only  hath  immortality." — 


350  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

1  Tim.  vi.  16.  It  cannot  be  arrogated  by  any  creature ;  and  cer- 
tainly no  one  will  deny  that  the  power  of  the  Creator  can  confer 
enduring  existence  on  any  creature  whatever.  The  term  of  exist- 
ence of  creatures  is  determined,  not  by  any  necessary  law  either  of 
duration  or  dissolution,  as  essential  in  them,  but  by  the  will  of 
the  Creator ;  and  is  to  be  ascertained  by  the  revelations  of  his 
word.  Here  we  learn,  that  although  the  spirit  of  the  beast 
perishes,  that  of  man  is,  not  of  necessity,  but  by  endowment, 
immortal ;  and  there  is  nothing  inconsistent  with  this  recognised 
fact,  in  the  supposition  that  his  beginning  is  by  generation. 
Baronius,  indeed,  objects  to  this  view  of  the  matter.  He  defines 
the  immortality  of  the  soul  as  consisting  in  the  fact  that  it 
cannot  be  destroyed  by  any  action  of  a  creature,  and  demands 
whether  the  reason  of  this  is  not  the  fact  that  it  is  a  spiritual 
substance.  We  answer,  No;  and  point  to  the  opposite  facts, 
— that  there  is  not  a  particle  of  matter  in  the  universe  which  is 
not  possessed  of  this  same  superiority  over  created  agency,  as 
to  its  destruction ;  and, — that  the  spirit  of  the  beast  is  indirectly 
destructible  by  such  finite  power. 

If  these  suggestions  are  not  sufficient  to  show  the  utter  fallacy 
of  any  attempt,  by  a  process  of  a  priori  reasoning  from  the 
nature  of  a  substance,  as  material  or  spiritual,  to  arrive  at  any 
certain  conclusion  as  to  its  duration,  we  may  point  to  the 
opposite  fact  of  which  the  Scriptures  assure  us, — that  the  dead 
shall  be  raised  and  the  living  changed ;  so  that  the  bodies  of  all 
shall  become  incorruptible  and  immortal.  Thus,  then,  neither 
is  that  which  is  material  necessarily  corruptible,  nor  spirit 
necessarily  immortal.  The  will  of  Him  who  gave  them  being 
fixes  the  bounds  of  each. 

Here  we  would  call  attention  to  a  principle,  which  is  variously 
asserted  as  an  element  of  the  argument,  although  its  true  nature 
is  perhaps  not  usually  recognised.  It  is,  that  the  souls  of 
men  must  be  products  of  immediate  creative  power,  because 
it  is  impossible  in  the  nature  of  things  that  they  should  be 
generated.  Here,  we  remark,  by  the  way,  that  no  one  can  assign 
limits  to  the  action  of  a  cause,  unless  he  understands  the  nature 
and  operation  of  that  cause ;  and  therefore  we,  who  must  confess 


sect,  in.]     Extent  of  Adam's  Parental  Relation.  351 

our  ignorance  on  these  points  in  regard  to  generation,  are 
entirely  incompetent  to  decide  that  it  is  not  possible  that  souls 
should  be  so  produced.  But  we  have  another  and  still  weightier 
objection  to  the  assumption.  Whilst  it  is  immediately  occupied 
with  second  causes,  it  in  fact  sets  a  limit  to  the  power  of  God. 
In  denying  that  it  is  possible  that  a  soul  should  be  generated,  it  in 
reality  denies  God  to  be  able  to  produce  souls  in  any  way,  except 
by  the  immediate  exercise  of  his  own  power.  In  short,  it  is  an 
example  of  the  same  kind  of  rationalism  which  denies  it  to  be 
possible  that  God  should  rule  the  will  of  man,  in  consistency 
with  its  continued  freedom;  and  that  for  the  same  reason, — 
because  we  cannot  see  how  it  can  be  done.  But  is  the  Almighty 
to  be  straitened  by  the  imbecility  of  man's  poor  reason  ?  "Canst 
thou  by  searching  find  out  God  ?  Canst  thou  find  out  the  Al- 
mighty unto  perfection?" 

We  are  met  with  passages  from  the  word  of  God.  The  Scrip- 
tures which  are  relied  upon  are  the  following.  Num.  xvi.  22, 
I  4.  Scrip.-  and  xxvii.  16  : — "The  Lord,  the  God  of  the  spirits  of 
tures  alleged.  &\[  flesh."  Psalm  xxxiii.  15  : — "  He  fashioneth  their 
hearts  alike."  Eccles.  iii.  21: — "Who  knoweth  the  spirit  of 
man  that  goeth  upward  ?"  Eccles.  xii.  7  : — "  Then  shall  the 
dust  return  to  the  earth  as  it  was,  and  the  spirit  shall  return 
unto  God  who  gave  it."  Isa.  xlii.  5 : — "  Thus  saith  God  the  Lord, 
...  he  that  giveth  breath  unto  the  people  upon  the  earth,  and 
spirit  to  them  that  walk  therein."  Isa.  lvii.  16  : — "  The  souls 
which  I  have  made."  Zech.  xii.  1 : — "  The  Lord  which  .  .  . 
formeth  the  spirit  of  man  within  him." 

We  appeal  to  the  reader,  whether  these  places  prove  any  thing 
to  the  purpose ;  except  a  consciousness,  on  the  part  of  those  who 
use  them,  of  the  necessity  of  Scripture  authority  to  sustain  the 
foregone  conclusions  of  their  philosophy.  But  of  the  meaning 
of  these  texts,  and  their  relation  to  the  matter  here  at  issue,  we 
shall  speak  particularly  after  a  little.  There  is  only  one  additional 
scripture  that  is  relied  upon,  as  declaring  the  immediate  crea- 
tion of  the  soul.  It  is  Hebrews  xii.  9  : — "  We  have  had  fathers 
of  our  flesh  which  corrected  us,  and  we  gave  them  reverence : 
shall  we  not  much  rather  be  in  subjection  unto  the  Father  of 


352  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  chap.  xi. 

spirits,  and  live  ?"  This  text  is  by  Flavel  and  others  regarded 
as  conclusive.  "Here  God  is  called  the  Father  of  spirits,  or 
souls,  and  that  in  an  emphatical  antithesis  or  contradistinction 
to  our  natural  fathers,  who  are  called  fathers  of  our  flesh,  or 
bodies."*  By  this  interpretation,  {aap^  the  flesh,  is  supposed  to 
mean  our  bodies,  considered  as  physical  organizations,  contrasted 
with  our  souls.  But  this  is  a  sense  in  which  the  word  is  never 
elsewhere  used.  The  true  meaning  of  the  passage  may  probably 
be  elicited  by  reference  to  the  language  of  our  Saviour  to  Nico- 
demus,  in  John  iii.  6  : — "That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh, 
and  that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit."  If 'earthly 
fathers  are  entitled  to  reverence,  from  whom  we  have  derived  a 
nature  depraved  and  fallen,  much  more  is  it  due  to  Hinrwho  has 
restored  us  by  his  grace  to  holiness  and  given  us  the  adoption 
of  sons.  This  interpretation  is  undoubtedly  far  more  conform- 
able to  the  force  of  the  original  language  and  the  analogy  of 
Scripture  than  that  which  we  reject.  There  are  two  insupe- 
rable objections  to  the  admission  of  the  latter.  The  one  is,  that, 
as  already  stated,  it  attributes  to  the  word  "flesh"  a  sense 
which  is  not  only  without  precedent,  but  incompatible  with  its 
received  meaning.  The  related  uses  of  the  words,  flesh,  and, 
body,  appear  in  the  climax  of  Eph.  v.  30 : — "  We  are  members 
of  his  body,  of  his  flesh,  and  of  his  bones."  In  1  Cor.  xv.  50, 
we  are  told  that  "  flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom 
of  God."  And  yet  it  is  written,  in  the  44th  verse,  that  "it  is 
sown  a  natural  body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body."  In  the 
scriptural  use  of  the  word,  flesh,  one  or  other  of  two  leading 
ideas  seems  always  to  be  involved.  The  first  is  that  of  animal  in- 
teguments, considered  irrespective  of  organization  and  life,  or,  to 
the  negation  of  it.  See  Eev.  xix.  18 ;  Acts  ii.  31 ;  Eph.  v.  29,  30. 
The  second  is  the  idea  of  human  nature,  ordinarily  implying 
moral  corruption.  See  Rom.  viii.  3  ;  Gal.  v.  17  ;  John  i.  14 ; 
Heb.  v.  7.  Perhaps  we  ought  to  add  to  these  another  class  of 
expressions,  in  which  the  idea  conveyed  by  the  word  is  that  of 
relationship.     This,  however,  involves  both  the  preceding  ideas, 

*  Treatise  on  the  Soul.     FlaveFs  Works,  folio,  Glasgow,  1764,  vol.  i.  p.  296. 


sect,  iv.]     Extent  of  Adam's  Parental  Relation.  353 

— original  community  of  corporeity  and  of  nature.     See  Gen.  ii. 
23,  24;  2  Sam.  v.  1;  Rom.  xi.  14. 

Our  other  objection  to  the  interpretation  here  considered  is, 
that  the  word  "our"  is  wanting  in  the  text,  in  the  latter  member 
of  the  antithesis.  Had  the  idea  which  occupied  the  apostle's 
mind  been  that  of  contrast  between  the  origin  of  body  and 
soul,  he  would  not  have  failed  to  mark  it  by  corresponding- 
expressions.  To  the  "  fathers  of  our  flesh,"  he  would  have  op- 
posed "  the  Father  of  our  spirits."  The  adoption,  instead  of 
this,  of  the  phrase  ■ '  Father  of  spirits,"  is  altogether  inconsistent 
with  the  supposition,  that  the  apostle  designed  a  contrast  between 
the  origin  of  the  body  and  the  soul. 

An  interpretation,  which  seems  to  flow  naturally  from  the 
language  employed,  is,  of  a  comparison  between  fathers  who 
are  themselves  but  men,  and  the  authors  of  a  corrupted  and 
fallen  nature  in  their  seed, — and  a  holy  God,  the  great,  the  infinite 
Spirit ;  whose  family  is  composed  of  those  happy  spirits,  angelic 
and  redeemed,  who  shine  in  holiness  before  his  throne.  "  We 
have  had  fathers,  themselves  by  nature  carnal ;  and  from  whom 
we  inherit  a  nature  like  theirs,  corrupt  and  unholy.  If  we  owe 
them  reverence,  how  much  more  to  God,  the  infinite  Spirit,  the 
Father, — the  Creator,  Preserver  and  Benefactor, — of  the  brother- 
hood of  blessed  spirits  in  heaven!"  "  The  Father  of  spirits." 
With  this  compare  Isaiah  ix.  5.  "  His  name  shall  be  called, 
the  everlasting  Father,  (Heb.  the  Father  of  ages.)"  "  It  signi- 
fies," says  Alexander,  "a  father  or  possessor  of  eternity,  i.e.  an 
eternal  being, — or,  an  author  and  bestower  of  eternal  life. 
Possibly  it  may  include  both."*  So  here, — "  the  Father  of 
spirits," — the  infinite  Spirit,  the  author  of  all  others,  irrespective 
of  the  mode  of  the  relation.  The  contrast  is  not  between  the 
origin  of  body  and  soul,  but  between  the  dignity  and  authority 
of  our  natural  fathers,  and  of  the  infinite  Spirit,  our  Father  in 
heaven. 

There  are  two  suggestions,  which,  duly  considered,  will  obviate 
any  difficulty  which  the  texts  above  cited  may  be  thought  to  in- 
terpose to  our  doctrine.     The  first  is,  that  the  question  is  not 

*  Alexander  on  Isaiah,  vol.  i.  p.  162. 
23 


354  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

whether  God  is  the  Creator;  but  whether  in  the  creation  of  the 
soul  his  agency  is  immediate,  and  without  the  instrumentality 
of  a  second  cause.  Hence,  quotations  to  prove  God  the  soul's 
creator,  are  entirely  aside  of  the  mark.  Yet  such  are  the  texts 
above  cited.  They  do  not  even  seem  to  have  any  bearing  on  the 
real  question;  unless  we  except  that  from  the  epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  of  which  we  have  particularly  spoken.  It  is  on  all 
hands  agreed,  that  the  bodies  of  men  derive  their  being  through 
generation ;  and  yet  the  Scriptures  speak  of  the  creative  agency 
of  God  in  this  case,  with  a  particularity  and  minuteness  of  de- 
tail, such  as  has  no  parallel  in  reference  to  the  soul.  One  or 
two  places  will  serve  as  an  illustration  of  the  language  thus  em- 
ployed. Says  the  patriarch  Job,  "Thine  hands  have  made  me 
and  fashioned  me  together  round  about;  yet  thou  dost  destroy 
me.  Eemember,  I  beseech  thee,  that  thou  hast  made  me  as  the 
clay ;  and  wilt  thou  bring  me  into  dust  again  ?  Hast  thou  not 
poured  me  out  as  milk,  and  curdled  me  like  cheese  ?  Thou  hast 
clothed  me  with  skin  and  flesh,  and  hast  fenced  me  with  bones 
and  sinews." — Job  x.  8-11.  Again,  he  says,  in  allusion  to  his 
servant,  "Did  not  He  that  made  me  in  the  womb  make  him?" 
— Job  xxxi.  15.  Says  the  Psalmist,  "Thou  hast  possessed  my 
reins;  thou  hast  covered  me  in  my  mother's  womb.  I  will  praise 
thee,  for  I  am  fearfully  and  wonderfully  made :  marvellous  are 
thy  works,  and  that  my  soul  knoweth  right  well.  My  substance 
was  not  hid  from  thee  when  I  was  made  in  secret,  and  curiously 
wrought  in  the  lowest  parts  of  the  earth.  Thine  eyes  did  see 
my  substance,  yet  being  unperfect;  and  in  thy  book  all  my 
members  were  written,  which  in  continuance  were  fashioned, 
when  as  yet  there  was  none  of  them." — Psalm  cxxxix.  13-16. 
It  would  be  acknowledged  preposterous  to  conclude,  from  these 
expressions,  that  the  bodies  of  men  are  created  immediately  by 
God,  without  generation.  Why,  then,  should  such  an  interpreta- 
tion be  forced  upon  expressions  in  regard  to  the  soul,  which  it  can- 
not be  pretended  are  more  emphatic  and  unequivocal  than  these? 
The  second  remark  to  be  made  on  those  scriptures,  to  which 
appeal  is  made,  is,  that  it  would  be  no  way  inconsistent  with  the 
doctrine  of  the  generation  of  the  whole  man  in  Adam's  poste- 


sect,  iv.]     Extent  of  Adams  Parental  Relation.  355 

rity,  if  the  Scriptures  should  be  found  to  speak  in  a  different 
manner,  of  the  origin  of  the  soul  and  of  the  body.  For,  in  the 
creation  of  the  parents  of  our  race,  the  body  was  moulded  out 
of  pre-existent  dust;  but  the  soul  was  created  of  nothing,  by 
the  Spirit  of  God.  To  this,  undoubtedly,  Elihu  alludes,  when 
he  says,  "There  is  a  spirit  in  man,  and  the  inspiration  of  the  Al- 
mighty hath  given  him  understanding."  And  again,  "The 
Spirit  of  God  hath  made  me,  and  the  breath  of  the  Almighty 
hath  given  me  life." — Job  xxxii.  8;  xxxiii.  4.  Language  on 
this  subject,  which  is  perfectly  consistent  with  either  view, — and 
such  is  the  case  with  all  the  scriptures  cited  above, — should  not 
be  wrested,  as  though  fatal  to  that  which  we  take. 

We  proceed  to  the  affirmative  argument.  Here,  however,  it 
should  be  observed,  that  ours  is  a  gratuitous  labour.  The  bur- 
, ,  _  den  of  proof  properly  rests  upon  those  who  deny 

£  o.  Our  argu-  r  sr      r        J  i  j 

mem  gratui-  the  reality  of  the  seeming  operation  of  second 
tous-  causes,  and  assert  the  immediate  and  miraculous 

agency  of  God.  So  long  as  their  position  is  not  proved,  the 
opposite  holds  good.  That  the  human  species  is  propagated  by 
generation, — that  children  are  the  offspring  of  their  parents, — 
is  a  proposition  which,  it  would  seem,  might  be  taken  for 
granted,  if  any  thing  may.  It  is  asserted  in  the  Scriptures;  it 
is  attested  by  all  the  analogies  of  nature ;  it  is  confirmed  by  all 
the  phenomena  of  conception  and  birth ;  its  reality  is  enstamped 
on  the  whole  constitution  of  the  child, — which  displays  here- 
ditary traits,  not  only  in  the  body,  but  in  the  soul ;  and  not  only 
those  which  are  common  to  the  race,  but  often,  in  a  very  distinct 
inscription,  those  which  are  peculiar  to  the  immediate  parents; 
and  it  is  held  in  undoubting  belief  by  the  whole  mass  of  mankind. 
In  short,  the  proposition,  that  the  child  is  the  offspring  of  his 
parents,  no  one  could  venture  to  contradict  in  terms.  And  yet 
this  is  the  very  question  which  is  at  issue.  For,  be  it  observed, 
that  the  child  is  not  merely  a  mass  of  beautifully  moulded  clay. 
It  is  not  merely,  nor  principally,  a  body.  On  the  contrary,  the 
chief,  the  controlling,  the  essential,  element  in  its  being  is  its  in- 
corporeal, intellectual  and  moral  nature.  It  is  not  the  body 
only,  but  the  soul,  upon  which  the  parental  lineaments  are  en- 


356  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

graven.  It  is  not  the  body  chiefly,  but  the  soul,  of  which  con- 
ditions and  relations  dependent  on  those  of  the  parents  are  pre- 
dicated. In  short,  in  the  unity  of  the  human  person,  the  soul 
is  the  principal,  the  controlling,  element;  and  he  who  admits  that 
the  child  is  derived  from  the  parent,  and  yet  denies  that  the 
propagation  comprehends  the  soul,  "  palters  in  a  double  sense," 
and  denies  in  detail  what  he  cannot  venture  to  contradict  in 
form.  The  two  statements, — that  man  propagates  his  species; 
and, — that  man  propagates  the  bodies  of  his  posterity, — are 
any  thing  but  one  and  the  same;  and  he  who  asserts  that  the 
latter  only  is  true,  in  so  doing  denies  the  truth  of  the  other. 

In  entering  on  the  direct  argument,  our  first  appeal  is  to  the 
express  testimony  of  the  word  of  God.  It  has  already  appeared, 
1 6.  Argument  that  when  God  created  Adam  he  made  him  in  his 
from  Seth's  0wn  image  and  likeness ; — a  likeness  not  residing  in 
the  body  merely,  nor  especially ;  but  enstamped 
upon  his  nature  in  its  generative  constitution,  and  on  his  soul, 
in  moral  agency,  knowledge,  righteousness,  holiness  and  dominion. 
The  perfection  of  this  likeness  was  defaced  in  the  fall.  In  the 
fourth  chapter  of  Genesis,  we  have  a  narrative  of  the  birth  and 
history  of  Cain  and  Abel,  of  the  generations  of  Cain,  and  of  the 
birth  of  Seth  and  his  son  Enos.  Respecting  Cain  and  Abel,  we 
have  no  information,  as  bearing  upon  the  present  inquiry.  Their 
blood  does  not  now  flow  in  any  human  veins ;  and  the  account 
respecting  them  is  brief,  and  contains  nothing  specific  in  regard 
to  a  nature  which  is  not  any  longer  transmitted  from  them. 
But  Seth  is  the  father  of  the  present  population  of  the  earth. 
In  the  manner  of  his  origin,  and  the  character  of  his  nature,  we 
have  the  original  and  pattern  of  our  own;  and,  in  regard  to  him, 
we  have  a  statement,  explicit,  unambiguous,  and  apparently  in- 
capable of  being  explained  away.  The  personal  and  family 
history  of  the  individual,  Adam,  havjng  been  completed  in  the 
fourth  chapter,  the  first  book  of  the  inspired  record  there  closes ; 
and  the  next  chapter  begins  the  second,  which  is  headed  by  its 
distinctive  theme.  It  is  "The Book  of  the  Generations,"  not  of 
the  individual  Adam, — the  first  man ;  but  of  the  generic  Adam, — 
the  race.     This,  the  very  first  expressions  of  the  record  con- 


sect,  v.]       Extent  of  Adams  Parental  Relation.  357 

clusively  show.  "This  is  the  Book  of  the  Generations  of 
Adam.  In  the  day  that  God  created  man,  in  the  likeness  of  God 
made  he  him :  male  and  female  created  he  them,  and  blessed 
them,  and  called  their  name,  Adam,  in  the  day  when  they  were 
created.  And  Adam  lived  a  hundred  and  thirty  years,  and 
begat  a  son  in  his  own  likeness,  after  his  image,  and  called  his 
name  Seth." — Gen.  v.  1-3.  Of  this  language,  several  things  are 
noteworthy. 

1.  The  statement  is  presented  as  prefatory  to  a  narrative  of 
the  populating  of  the  old  world,  and  its  universal  corruption  and 
overthrow.  Of  the  violence  and  wickedness  which  brought  the 
deluge  upon  the  world,  it  exhibits  the  spring  and  source.  It 
states  the  origin  of  the  image,  of  which  the  subsequent  chapters 
display  the  dark  lineaments.  Placed,  too,  as  it  is,  as  the  first 
link  at  the  head  of  the  genealogical  chain,  which  is  traced,  in 
the  same  chapter,  to  Noah,  the  second  father  of  our  race, — it  in- 
dicates, not  merely  the  manner  of  Seth's  origin;  but,  in  his 
instance,  states  the  law  which  governs  the  whole,  and  is  equally 
applicable  to  Enos,  Cainan,  and  each  several  individual  of  his 
posterity,  as  well  as  to  Seth. 

2.  The  language  under  consideration  signalizes,  in  a  manner 
worthy  of  special  note,  the  prolific  constitution  with  which  Adam 
was  endowed,  when  created  in  holiness.  When  God  had  created 
man,  he  had  in  a  very  emphatic  manner  marked  the  distinction 
of  the  sexes,  by  the  temporary  solitude  of  Adam,  and  the  after 
creation  of  his  wife.  "Male  and  female  created  he  them.  And 
God  blessed  them,  and  God  said  unto  them,  Be  fruitful,  and 
multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth."  Thus,  at  the  very  first, 
does  the  Creator  mark  propagation — and  that  without  limita- 
tion as  to  any  part  of  their  being,  but  predicated  of  them  in  their 
entire  nature,  as  they  were  "Adam" — as  the  means  of  their 
increase.  A  narrative  is  then  given  of  the  fall  and  the  curse, 
and  of  the  history  of  Cain  and  Abel,  and  the  birth  of  Seth  and 
Enos.  Then  the  Spirit  of  God,  about  to  exhibit  the  gliding  and 
progressive  stream  of  the  world's  moral  history,  in  our  ancestral 
line,  recurs  again  to  the  original  ordinance  of  propagation,  as 
the  key  to  all  that  follows: — "In  the  day  that  God  created  man, 


358  The  EloJiim  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

.  .  .  male  and  female  created  he  them,  and  blessed  them," — 
with  that  blessing,  of  which  the  first  element  was  fruitfulness, 
and  the  second,  consequent  possession  of  the  whole  earth.  He 
then  states  the  birth  of  Seth : — "Adam  lived  a  hundred  and 
thirty  years,  and  begat  a  son  in  his  own  likeness,  after  his  image, 
and  called  his  name  Seth."  What  means  the  earnestness  with 
which,  in  a  narrative  so  brief,  the  Spirit  of  God  recurs  again 
and  again  to  the  sexual  relation,  and  the  generative  constitution 
of  Adam?  Can  it  be  questioned,  that,  thus  occurring  at  the 
very  opening  of  the  sacred  record,  and  placed  in  immediate  con- 
nection with  the  birth  of  our  father  Seth,  it  was  designed  to 
bear  upon  the  doctrine  of  man's  nature,  and  original  sin, — that 
guilt  and  depravity  which  have  their  seat  in  the  soul  ? 

3.  The  specific  design  of  the  Bible,  as  set  forth  therein,  is  to 
unfold  to  us  the  nature  and  history  of  our  relations  to  God. 
Beginning  with  the  story  of  the  creation  of  the  world,  and  of 
man,  in  the  image  of  God,  and  setting  before  us  his  high  dignity 
and  privilege,  crowned  with  glory  and  honour,  in  dominion  over 
the  creatures,  and  in  covenant  with  God, — it  makes  known  the 
history  of  his  base  apostasy  and  grievous  fall.  It  then  an- 
nounces the  glorious  plan  of  redemption,  in  the  promise  made 
to  the  woman.  Of  that  plan,  it  is  a  history.  To  it,  every  page 
of  the  volume  looks,  gradually  unfolding  its  hidden  mystery, 
until  it  bursts  upon  the  world  in  the  triumphant  catastrophe  of 
Gethsemane  and  the  cross ;  and  then  reveals,  in  prophetic  vision, 
the  story  of  its  triumphs  over  sin  and  the  curse,  until  the  con- 
summation of  all  things.  At  the  beginning  of  such  a  history, 
in  the  very  lowest  course  of  the  foundation  of  such  a  temple  of 
God's  glory,  we  find  the  statement  in  question  respecting  the 
birth  of  Seth.  It  is  the  very  first  fact  recorded  in  "  the  book 
of  the  generations  of  Adam,"  that  is,  of  man.  Nor  is  there  any 
room  for  the  idea  that  the  form  of  the  expression  is  merely 
casual.  A  careful  examination  of  the  whole  connection  must 
produce  upon  the  reader  an  impression  directly  the  opposite  of 
this.  It  has  the  characteristics  of  a  deliberately  designed  and 
most  significant  statement,  the  obliteration  of  which  would 
create  a  chasm  in  the  field  of  revelation.    It  purports  to  exhibit 


sect,  vi.]     Extent  of  Adam  s  Parental  Fetation.  359 

the  bond  which  connects  us  with  the  transgression  and  ruin  of 
our  first  parents.  It  states  the  fact  to  which  all  subsequent 
Scripture  looks  back  as  alone  sufficient  to  account  for  the  corrup- 
tion and  depravity  of  our  race,  and  the  curse  which  overshadows 
the  world.  The  omission  of  this  passage, — the  elision  of  the 
fact  here  stated, — -would  leave  the  broad  tide  of  the  world's  dark 
and  lamentable  experience  entirely  separated  from  the  bitter 
fountain  in*  our  apostate  parents.  In  other  places  the  connec- 
tion is  presumed  or  asserted.  Here  we  have  its  channel  dis- 
closed, and  are  permitted  to  see  the  outflow  of  the  turbid  stream. 
The  fact  of  Seth's  birth  and  family  had  been  already  stated  in 
the  preceding  chapter.  And,  if  the  interpretation  for  which  we 
here  contend  be  rejected,  we  are  shut  up  to  the  admission  that 
here  is  an  unmeaning  repetition; — a  tautology,  the  assumption 
of  which  has  given  occasion  to  rationalistic  exegesis  to  assert 
the  whole  to  be  a  compilation,  clumsily  put  together  by  Moses, 
out  of  several  documents  of  older  date. 

4.  In  the  place  here  considered,  we  are  not  left  to  vague  and 
uncertain  inference ;  but  have  a  distinct  and  unequivocal  state- 
ment as  to  the  origin  of  the  soul  of  Seth: — "Adam  begat  a  son 
in  his  own  likeness,  after  his  image."  The  begetting  is  in  terms 
predicated  of  that  in  which  was  the  image.  If  Adam's  whole 
image,  corporeal  and  spiritual,  was  reproduced  in  Seth,  it  follows 
that  Seth,  in  his  entire  being,  was  begotten  by  Adam.  This 
conclusion  no  ingenuity  can  evade.  But  the  testimony  is  yet 
more  explicit  than  this.  It  points  with  emphasis  to  the  image 
of  God  in  which  Adam  was  created ;  and,  with  a  mournful  sig- 
nificance, contrasts  that  of  Seth  with  it.  "  In  the  day  that  God 
created  man,  in  the  likeness  of  God  made  he  him ;"  "and  Adam 
begat  a  son  in  his  own  likeness."  No  one  will  pretend  that 
Adam's  likeness  to  God  was  any  thing  short  of  a  moral  likeness 
dwelling  in  his  soul.  It  is  then  Seth's  moral  likeness  to  Adam 
that  is  here  especially  meant ;  and,  the  begetting  being  expressly 
predicated  of  that  in  which  the  likeness  lay,  the  conclusion  is 
unavoidable,  that,  if  Seth  was  begotten  at  all,  his  soul  pro- 
ceeded from  his  parents,  as  well  as  his  body. 

5.  The  passage,  which  we  have  here  examined,  is  not  only 


360  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

thus  important,  as  containing  a  statement  so  explicit,  on  the 
subject  of  our  inquiry;  but,  occurring  as  it  does  in  the  first 
records  of  our  race,  inscribed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  intimate 
connection  with  the  account  of  the  fall, — and  thus,  in  the  minds 
of  the  inspired  men  who  penned  the  subsequent  scriptures,  in- 
separably associated  with  that  event,  as  the  link  of  theirs  and 
the  world's  connection  with  it, — it  serves  as  a  key  to  their 
writings ; — a  rule  by  which  to  interpret  their  several  testimony, 
when  in  other  places  they  speak  on  the  same  subject.  To  some 
of  these  we  now  turn. 

Says  Job,  "Who  can  bring  a  clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean? 
not  one." — Job  xiv.  4.  The  sentiment  is  repeated  by  Eliphaz, 
?  7.  Other  and  re-affirmed  by  Bildad.  "  What  is  man,  that  he 
Scripture  should  be  clean  ?  and  he  which  is  born  of  a  woman, 

es  imony.  ^^  ^e  g^^^  ^g  righteOUS?" Job  XV.  14.        "  How 

can  man  be  justified  with  God?  or  how  can  he  be  clean  that  is 
born  of  a  woman?" — Job  xxv.  4.  We  are  not  unaware  that  these, 
and  other  passages  which  follow,  are  supposed  to  be  susceptible 
of  such  interpretation  as  avoids  the  conclusion  which  we  deduce. 
But  it  is  the  duty  of  the  candid  student  of  the  word  of  God  to 
inquire, — not  how  far  the  Bible  may  be  forced  to  conform  to  the 
preconceived  deductions  of  our  philosophy, — but,  what  is  the 
unconstrained  significance  of  its  language.  We,  therefore,  bring 
these  passages  before  the  reader,  and  ask  him  to  consider  to 
what  conclusion  they  obviously  lead.  These  patriarchs,  unani- 
mously, and  with  the  emphasis  of  the  interrogatory  form,  assert 
the  doctrine  that  like  begets  like.  They  predicate  uncleanness 
and  sin  of  man.  That  the  soul  is  here  implicated,  no  one  will 
question.  Of  this  defilement,  it  is  further  asserted,  that  it  is 
consequent  upon  the  fact  of  our  origin  from  a  defiled  source.  In 
other  words,  they  declare  the  unholy  child  to  derive, — not  its 
defilement  only,  but  that  which  is  defiled, — its  moral  being, — 
from  its  apostate  parents.  The  same  remarks  apply  to  the  lan- 
guage of  David: — "Behold,  I  was  shapen  in  iniquity,  and  in  sin 
did  my  mother  conceive  me." — Psalm  li.  5. 

Similar  in  its  meaning  is  the  expression  of  our  Saviour  to 
Nicodemus: — "That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh;  and 


sect,  vi.]     Extent  of  Adams  Parental  Relation.  361 

that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit.  Marvel  not  that  I  said 
unto  thee,  Ye  must  be  born  again." — John  iii.  6,  7.  It  is  hardly- 
necessary  to  say,  that  in  this  place  the  language,  as  the  original 
shows,  comprehends,  not  the  birth  merely,  but  the  generation. 
Here  occurs  to  us  the  remarkable  argument  which  Dr.  Green 
makes,  from  the  scriptural  usage  of  the  word  "flesh,"  of  which 
our  Saviour's  language  is  an  illustration.  Speaking  of  the  idea 
that  the  soul  of  each  several  individual,  created  originally 
without  impurity,  is  defiled  by  the  body,  he  says,  "It  seems 
to  me  to  coincide  with  the  numerous  expressions  of  St.  Paul — 
perhaps,  to  be  countenanced  by  those  expressions — in  which  a 
carnal  or  fleshly  mind  is  put  for  human  depravity.  By  this 
apostle,  the  whole  embodied  principles  of  sin  are  emphatically 
denominated,  the  flesh  : — '  The  flesh  lusteth  against  the  Spirit, 
and  the  Spirit  against  the  flesh,  and  these  are  contrary  the  one 
to  the  other,  so  that  ye'cannot  do  the  things  that  ye  would.' — 
Gal.  v.  17.  For  some  reason  or  other,  'the  flesh'  is  here  repre- 
sented as  the  source  and  seat  of  sin."  True;  and  the  reason 
would  seem  to  be  abundantly  clear,  if  the  language  of  our  Saviour 
to  Nicodemus  be  taken  into  the  account.  He  urges  the  neces- 
sity of  the  soul  being  renewed  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
This  necessity  he  attributes  to  the  fact  that  man's  spiritual 
nature  is  depraved, — depraved  by  virtue  of  generation  from  a 
depraved  source;  and  that  it  needs  a  work  which  shall  be  as 
radical  in  its  influence  over  the  nature,  as  this  corrupted  birth, — 
a  new  birth  to  holiness.  "That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is 
flesh;  and  that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit."  Now, 
in  respect  to  this  expression,  observe: — 1.  That,  as  Dr. 
Green  truly  remarks  of  the  language  of  Paul,  so  here,  "the 
whole  embodied  principles  of  sin  are  emphatically  denominated, 
'the  flesh.'  "  2.  That  these  principles  are  not  substances,  which 
can  have  an  existence  alone;  but  accidents  of  the  soul,  which 
can  only  therefore  exist  where  their  subject  the  soul  exists.  3. 
That  on  account  of  this  inseparable  relation  of  the  depravity  to 
the  soul,  and  of  that  and  the  body  to  each  other,  the  whole  man 
is  in  the  Scriptures  designated  by  this  most  conspicuous  trait; 
and,  in  consequence  of   the  fact  that    the  depravity  which  is 


362  The  Elohhn  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

hidden  in  the  heart  exhibits  itself  to  creature  observation  mainly 
through  the  actions  of  the  body,  the  whole  takes  its  designation 
from  the  flesh  in  which  it  is  thus  discovered.  4.  "The  works 
of  the  flesh  are  manifest,  which  are  these :  adultery,  fornication, 
uncleanness,  lasciviousness,  idolatry,  witchcraft,  hatred,  variance, 
emulations,  wrath,  strife,  seditions,  heresies,  envyings,  murders, 
drunkenness,  revellings,  and  such  like." — Gal.  v.  19-21.  Now, 
of  these  our  Saviour  expressly  testifies  that  they  originate,  not 
in  the  body,  but  the  soul.  "From  within,  out  of  the  heart  of 
men,  proceed  evil  thoughts,  adulteries,  fornications,  murders, 
thefts,  covetousness,  wickedness,  deceit,  lasciviousness,  an  evil 
eye,  blasphemy,  pride,  foolishness;  all  these  evil  things  come 
from  within,  and  defile  the  man." — Mark  vii.  21-23.  5.  That 
our  Saviour  here  distinctly  testifies  that  "the  flesh"  is  a  subject 
of  generation ; — it  both  begets  and  is  begotten ;  and  the  offspring 
of  this  generation  is  depraved,  because  it  springs  from  the  de- 
praved source,  the  likeness  of  which  it  bears.  6.  That  he  pre- 
dicates, of  regeneration,  a  subject  precisely  commensurate  with 
the  depraved  generation.  It  is  that  which  is  born  of  the  flesh, 
which  must  be  born  of  the  Spirit;  and  it  is  because  of  this 
fleshly  birth,  that  the  other  is  requisite.  Now,  in  view  of  these 
things,  we  ask,  who  will  venture  to  come  in  with  a  philosophical 
apparatus  and  explain  Christ's  language  away?  Shall  we  be 
told  that  the  soul  was  not  begotten  ?  Then  it  does  not  need  a 
new  birth.  Shall  we  be  persuaded  that  it  is  the  depravity  only 
that  flows  to  us  from  our  parentage?  Then  may  the  accident 
exist,  without  its  subject, — depravity,  without  a  depraved  thing! 
Shall  we  be  assured  that  it  is  the  body  to  which  the  depravity 
attaches, — that  it  is  primitive  in  it,  and  thence  transfused  into 
the  soul,  previously  undefiled?  Then  must  we  believe  our 
Saviour  mistaken,  in  declaring  that  "  all  these"  come  out  of  the 
heart,  and  defile  the  man.  In  short,  no  ingenuity  can  subvert 
the  fact,  that  our  Saviour  here  declares,  not  only  the  depravity, 
but  the  subject  of  it,  to  proceed  from  a  parental  subject  like 
itself. 

Having  thus  glanced  at  a  few  passages,  to  which  each  one  will 
be  able,  from  his  own  reading  of  the  Scriptures,  to  add  many 


sect,  vii.]    Extent  of  Adam  s  Parental  Relation.  363 

others,  we  ask, — Are  the  interpretations  here  given,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  grammatical  structure — the  plain  and  literal 
meaning — of  the  language  used  by  the  Holy  Spirit?  And  if  this 
question  must  be  answered  in  the  affirmative,  we  further  in- 
quire,— What  sufficient  reasons  can  be  given  for  setting  aside 
the  sense  so  ascertained,  and  adopting  another?  So  far  as  ap- 
pears, the  only  reason  assigned,  consists  in  the  supposed  phi- 
losophical necessity  of  repudiating  the  conclusion  to  which  we 
are  thus  inevitably  brought.  But  we  have  already  seen,  that 
this  supposed  necessity  does  not  exist, — that  sound  philosophy 
does  not  utter  such  testimony  as  is  attributed  to  it. 

Further,  whilst  philosophy  is  entitled  to  a  most  respectful 
hearing,  in  its  own  appropriate  sphere,  on  the  other  hand, 
a  8  Proper  when  the  Spirit  of  God  makes  to  us  communi- 
piace  of  phi-  cations  involving  radical  questions  concerning  the 
losophy.  whole  relation  of  man  to  God,  and  to   the  salva- 

tion of  Christ,  it  is  the  business  of  philosophy  to  be  silent ;  and 
the  statements  are  to  be  interpreted  solely  by  the  assistance  of 
their  Author,  speaking  in  other  scriptures.  The  declarations 
of  the  Bible  are  indeed  to  be  explained  and  understood  in  accord- 
ance with  the  established  laws  of  language ;  but  the  meaning 
thus  ascertained  may  not  be  set  aside,  or  modified,  out  of  respect 
to  any  other  than  a  scriptural  authority, — the  result  of  an  im- 
partial and  reverent  comparison  of  spiritual  things  with  spirit- 
ual, in  accordance  with  the  analogy  of  faith.  This  is  especially 
true  where  the  statements  in  question,  as  in  the  present  case, 
involve  important  theological  issues.  It  will  not  be  pretended 
that  the  analogy  of  the  system  of  truth  is  in  any  thing  at 
variance  with  the  position  maintained  in  the  present  argument. 
On  the  contrary,  we  trust  to  make  it  abundantly  evident,  before 
we  close,  that  all  the  analogy  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  tends 
directly  to  our  position. 

We  are  deeply  solicitous,  in  reference  to  the  views  here  pre- 
sented, as  to  the  relation  of  philosophy  to  the  interpretation  of 
the  Scriptures  on  this  subject,  because  of  our  deliberate  and 
earnest  conviction  that  here,  and  here  only,  can  a  stand  be  made, 
consistently  and  with  complete  success,  against  the  assaults  of 


364  The  Eloliira  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

Pelagian  heresy.  If  orthodox  theologians  unite  with  Pelagians 
in  explaining  away  the  teachings  of  the  Scriptures  on  the  origin 
of  the  soul,  in  deference  to  the  dicta  of  an  intrusive  philosophy, 
it  is  impossible  that  they  should  successfully  contest  the  right 
of  their  more  venturous  associates  to  apply  the  same  key  to  the 
solution  of  the  difficulties  which  surround  the  question  of  its 
nature ;  especially  as  those  difficulties  arise  principally  from  the 
departure  already  allowed  from  the  testimony  of  the  Scriptures 
on  the  former  point.  No  argument  can  be  constructed  which 
will  vindicate  the  one,  and  not  at  the  same  time  justify  the  other. 
The  doctrine  of  the  primary,  absolute  and  final  authority  of  the 
Scriptures, — and  that  is  the  question  at  issue, — is  the  citadel  of 
the  Reformed,  the  Christian  faith.  To  deviate  from  it,  in  the 
most  insignificant  matter,  whether  through  inadvertence  or 
design,  is  to  surrender  the  fortress;  and  thenceforth  there  is  no 
available  check  upon  the  incursions  of  error.  There  is  no  bar- 
rier but  this  where  it  can  effectually  be  said  to  the  subtleties  of 
human  wit  and  the  pretensions  of  carnal  philosophy,  "  Hitherto 
shalt  thou  come,  but  no  farther."  Wiggers,  the  historian  of 
the  Pelagian  controversy,  himself  not  unfavourable  to  the  doc- 
trines of  Pelagius,  makes  the  following  just  and  instructive 
statement  in  respect  to  the  manner  in  which  the  controversy  was 
conducted  by  the  Pelagians  and  their  great  antagonist,  the  illus- 
trious Augustine : — "  Both  Augustine  and  the  Pelagians  rested 
the  truth  of  their  opinions  on  reason  and  Scripture ;  but  in  a 
totally  reverse  order.  What  Augustine  thought  he  had  found 
in  the  Bible,  he  also  sought  to  defend  with  philosophic  weapons. 
The  Pelagians  sought  confirmation  from  the  Bible  for  the  opi- 
nions they  had  derived  from  reason,  and  reflection  on  the  moral 
nature  of  man.  The  former  was  a  super-rationalist ;  the  latter, 
rationalists.  Julian,  in  several  passages,  declares  the  principle 
of  his  rationalistic  interpretation  of  the  Bible  : — '  Scripture  can 
teach  nothing  against  the  plain  decisions  of  reason.'  Aug.  Op. 
Imp.  ii.  53,  iv.  136,  vi.  41.'"*  Such  has  been  the  order  of  the 
controversy  from  the  beginning,  wherever  it  has  been  conducted 
successfully  with  this  proud  and  rationalistic  heresy.     "  Credo, 

*  Wiggers's  Augustinism  and  Pelagianism.     Andover,  p.  373. 


sect,  viii.]  Extent  of  Adams  Parental  Relation.  365 

ut  intelligam,"  "Faith  before  reason,"  is  the  watchword  of 
victory  in  this  controversy.  He  who  fights  under  this  banner 
will  come  off  triumphant.  He  who  forgets  or  inverts  it  will 
inevitably  fall. 

There  are  objections  which  appear  insurmountable  against 
the  doctrine  that  the  soul  is  an  immediate  creation.  First. 
o  9<  j)uai!sm  It  introduces  a  gross  and  revolting  dualism  into 
of  the  creation  man's  nature.  As  originally  made,  Adam  compre- 
theory.  bended  in  one  being  the  two  distinct  elements  of 

body  and  soul,  joined  together  in  a  union  which  was  essen- 
tial to  their  normal  condition  and  to  the  happiness  of  man, — 
a  union  which  nothing  but  the  penal  curse  could  have  dis- 
solved. In  the  unity  of  these  elements,  there  subsisted  a 
common  identity,  a  common  consciousness,  common  moral  re- 
lations, and  a  common  moral  character.  And  it  is  a  fact 
which  is  not  without  significance,  that  in  the  narrative  of  his 
creation  there  is  no  intimation  of  an  extraneous  creation  of  the 
soul  and  its  subsequent  insertion  in  the  body.  "  The  Lord  God 
formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed  into  his 
nostrils  the  breath  of  life;  and  man  was  a  living  soul."  We 
behold  the  dust  moulded  into  form  and  symmetry,  but  breath- 
less and  lifeless.  We  look  again,  and  the  inanimate  clay  is 
warm  with  vital  heat ;  the  breath  of  life  fills  the  lungs ;  the 
light  of  intelligence  beams  from  the  eye ;  and  an  immortal 
spirit  dwells  within.  Thus,  although  diverse  elements  enter 
into  his  being,  there  is  nothing  to  suggest  or  countenance  any 
conception  at  variance  with  the  most  perfect  and  inseparable 
unity.  We  read  nothing  to  sustain  the  assertion  of  Turrettine, 
that  Adam's  soul  "  came  extrinsically  through  creation,  and 
was  infused  into  his  body  by  the  breath  of  God."  It  was  not 
his  soul,  but  his  breath,  which  was  breathed  into  his  nostrils ; 
and  of  any  extrinsic  creation  of  the  soul,  and  its  subsequent 
infusion  into  the  body,  we  have  no  intimation.  In  fact,  there 
is  no  distinct  mention  of  the  creation  of  the  soul  at  all ;  but 
the  whole  style  of  the  narrative  seems  to  imply  that  it  was 
created  within  the  body,  in  an  original,  perfect  and  inseparable 
identification  with  it. 


366  The  EloMm  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

But,  on  the  contrary,  by  the  doctrine  which  we  here  oppose, 
we  are  introduced  to  man  as  comprehending  in  his  person  two 
distinct  and  separate  individuals, — two  several  beings.  They 
are  described  as  independent  in  the  sources  and  even  in  the 
time  of  their  origin, — as  possessing,  severally,  complete  constitu- 
tions, prior  to,  and  irrespective  of,  their  connection  with  each 
other, — as  having  originally  distinct  and  contrasted  moral 
characters, — as  bound  to  each  other  by  a  relation,  not  essential 
and  ab  origine,  but  accidental  and  secondary,  by  virtue  of  a 
factitious  and  mechanical  union;  and,  when  thus  brought 
together,  acting  as  distinct  individuals  upon  each  other,  as 
extraneous  and  antagonistic  influences ;  so  that,  in  the  process, 
the  soul,  hitherto  uncorrupted,  is  denied  and  enslaved  in  sin,  in 
consequence  of  its  connection  with  the  body,  which  derives  and 
conveys  to  it  corruption  of  nature  from  our  apostate  parents. 

It  results  from  these  views  that  Adam's  soul  and  body  were 
not  inseparably  united, — that  is  to  say,  he  was  not  created 
immortal ;  and  that  the  separation  which  takes  place  at  death, 
so  far  from  being  a  penal  condition,  an  unhappy  effect  of  the 
curse  against  sin,  should  rather  be  regarded  as  a  desirable 
estate, — the  restoration  of  the  soul  to  its  native  and  normal 
condition; — and  that  the  soul,  so  far  from  anticipating  the 
resurrection  with  desire  and  joy,  should  rather  recoil  from  it, 
as  from  the  resumption  of  broken  and  cast-off  fetters.  In  fact, 
this  theory  robs  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  much  of  its 
glorious  significance, — implying,  as  does  that  doctrine,  a  sus- 
tained identity  between  soul  and  body,  even  in  the  grave ; — and 
the  language  of  our  Confession  on  that  subject  becomes  mere 
unmeaning  sound.  According  to  it,  the  souls  of  believers  are 
with  and  united  to  Christ,  and  the  bodies,  though  in  their 
graves,  participate  in  that  union.  "  The  communion  in  glory 
with  Christ,  which  the  members  of  the  invisible  church  enjoy 
immediately  after  death,  is  in  that  their  souls  are  then  made 
perfect  in  holiness,  and  received  into  the  highest  heavens,  where 
they  behold  the  face  of  God  in  light  and  glory,  waiting  for  the 
full  redemption  of  their  bodies,  which  even  in  death  continue 


sect,  ix.]     Extent  of  Adams  Parental  Relation.  367 

united  to  Christ,  and  rest  in  their  graves  as  in  their  beds,  till 
at  the  last  day  they  be  again  united  to  their  souls."* 

It  is  a  very  serious  objection  to  the  doctrine  which  we  here 
oppose,  that  it  entirely  obliterates  the  relation  of  brotherhood 
§10.  Christ's  to  us  which  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  condescended 
humanity.  to  assume,  by  becoming  a  son  of  Abraham  and  seed 

of  the  woman.  That  the  Scriptures  emphasize  this  relation  as 
a  real  one,  no  one  will  question.  It  is  dwelt  upon  for  our  en- 
couragement in  coming  to  a  Saviour  who  has  a  sympathy  for  us 
by  virtue  of  his  kinhood  to  us,  and  consequent  sense  of  our 
infirmities,  and  experience  of  our  temptations ;  and  it  is  spoken 
of  as  essential  to  qualify  him  to  become  our  surety  and  saviour. 
The  scriptures  which  speak  on  this  subject — and  the  same 
remark  will  apply  to  all  to  which  we  have  appealed  in  this 
discussion — address  themselves  to  the  common  people ;  and,  in 
language  adapted  to  their  understandings,  speak  in  a  manner 
which  could  not  but  produce  in  their  minds  the  conviction  that 
the  relation  was  a  real  one,  resulting  from  a  true  generation 
of  the  entire  human  nature  from  our  first  parents.  On  this 
subject,  the  angel  says  to  the  Virgin,  "  The  Holy  Ghost  shall 
come  upon  thee,  and  the  power  of  the  Highest  shall  overshadow 
thee," — Luke  i.  35;  and  the  assurance  given  to  Joseph  was,  that 
"that  which  is  conceived  in  her  is  of  the  Holy  Ghost." — Matt. 
i.  20.  Here  is  a  miraculous  but  proper  and  real  generation  of 
a  true  humanity,  springing  thus  from  the  common  fountain  of 
the  human  race,  and  comprehending  in  it  "  a  true  body  and  a 
reasonable  soul;  being  conceived  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  in  the  womb  of  the  virgin  Mary,  of  her  substance;" 
"so  that  two  whole,  perfect  and  distinct  natures,  the  Godhead 
and  the  manhood,  were  inseparably  joined  together  in  one 
person. "f  According  to  the  view  which  we  oppose,  instead  of 
a  body  and  soul  begotten  of  the  substance  of  the  Virgin,  his 
was  an  immediately  created  soul,  having  really  no  other  relation 
to  ours  than  that  it  was  endowed  with  similar  capacities  and 


*  Larger  Catechism,  Question  37. 

•j-  Larger  Catechism,  Question  39  ;  and  Confession,  viii.  2. 


368  The  Eloldm  Revealed,  [chap.  xi. 

attributes,  sin  excepted;  but,  as  to  its  origin,  as  distinct  and 
unrelated  to  us  as  are  the  angels  in  heaven ;  and  the  only- 
relation  of  kindred  which  he  bears  to  our  race  consists  in  his 
occupying  a  body  made  of  dust  like  ours,  and  sustaining  some 
kind  of  a  vegetative  relation  to  the  bodies  of  the  first  parents 
of  our  race.  It  is  true  that,  in  the  same  way,  it  dissolves  all 
the  mutual  relations  of  kinhood  among  men ;  as  their  souls, 
severally,  are  supposed  to  be  distinct  and  independent  creations. 
But,  certainly,  this  is  no  redeeming  fact;  nor  does  it  relieve  the 
theory  of  its  obnoxious  bearing  upon  our  common  relation  to 
the  Son  of  God. 

The  writer  in  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Review,  as  quoted 
above,  appeals  indeed  to  this  same  characteristic  of  his  theory, 
as  conclusive  in  its  favour.  He  assumes  it  to  be  unquestionable, 
that  the  soul  of  Christ  was  immediately  created,  and  hence  con- 
cludes that  ours  must  be  so.  Were  the  premise  admitted,  the 
conclusion  does  not  follow.  The  miraculous  conception  takes 
the  case  out  of  the  category  of  ordinary  generation;  and  pre- 
cludes any  such  argument,  from  the  manner  of  it,  to  other 
cases.  But  the  writer  referred  to  gives  no  argument  and  no 
scripture,  to  support  his  assumption ;  and  we  are  persuaded  that 
there  is  none  to  be  found.  Reason  suggests  none  to  us ;  and 
revelation  is  entirely  silent  as  to  a  creation  of  the  soul  of  the 
Son  of  God.  On  the  contrary,  as  if  expressly  to  put  to  con- 
fusion such  a  suggestion,  it  emphasizes  the  divine  efficiency  in 
reference  to  his  body: — "A  body  hast  thou  prepared  me." 
Were  such  language  employed  in  regard  to  his  soul,  with 
what  promptitude  would  it  be  used  in  the  present  argument ! 
And  yet,  even  the  body  was  begotten.  How,  we  do  not  know. 
Nor  are  we  wiser  in  any  other  case.  The  curious  argument  of 
Augustine  may  have  been  present  to  the  mind  of  the  writer  in 
the  Review : — "  If  the  fact  avails  to  show  the  pre-eminence  of 
the  priesthood  of  Christ  over  that  of  Levi,  that  Christ  as  priest 
was  prefigured  by  him  who  received  tithes  of  Abraham,  and  of 
Levi  in  him,  it  is  evident  that  Christ  did  not  pay  tithes  in 
Abraham.  But  if  Levi  therefore  paid  tithes  because  he  was 
in  the  loins  of  Abraham,  it  follows  that  Christ  did  not  pay 


sect,  x.]       Extent  of  Adams  Parental  Relation.  369 

tithes,  as  not  being  in  Abraham's  loins.  But  if  we  admit  Levi 
to  have  been  in  Abraham  merely  as  to  his  body,  and  not  as  to 
his  soul,  then  Christ  also  was  in  him;  because  according  to  the 
flesh  he  was  of  the  seed  of  Abraham,  and  he,  also,  upon  this 
supposition,  paid  tithes.  What  then  becomes  of  his  pre-emi- 
nence over  Levi,  on  account  of  Levi  being  tithed  by  Melchize- 
dek,  in  the  loins  of  Abraham, — when  Christ  was  in  him  too,  and, 
hence,  equally  paid  tithes ;  unless  we  suppose  that  in  some  way 
Christ  was  not  in  him?  But  who  doubts  this  as  to  his  flesh? 
Therefore  he  was  not  in  him  as  to  his  soul.  Further,  the  soul 
of  Christ  was  not  generated ;  otherwise  it  would  also  have 
been  present  in  Adam  in  his  apostasy."* 

Were  we  to  admit  the  soundness  of  this  reasoning,  the  con- 
clusion would  remain,  that  the  souls  of  all  except  Christ  proceed 
from  propagation.  We  cannot,  however,  make  use  of  the  argu- 
ment; because  evidently  fallacious.  The  apostle  is  comparing 
the  priesthoods  of  Aaron  and  Christ.  In  the  interview  between 
Abraham  and  Melchizedek,  he  regards  the  former  as  the  father 
and  representative  of  Levi,  whose  priesthood  was,  in  fact,  an  in- 
heritance derived  from  Abraham.  Melchizedek  was  the  type 
and  representative  of  Christ,  whose  filial  relation  to  Abraham 
was  altogether  secondary  to  that  which,  "by  the  power  of  an 
endless  life,"  under  the  oath  of  God,  he  sustained  to  Melchizedek. 
Thus,  when  Levi  paid  tithes  in  Abraham,  he  did  not  so  much 
pay  them  to  Melchizedek,  as,  to  Christ,  the  priest  for  whom 
in  the  transaction  Melchizedek  stood.  The  apostle,  therefore, 
purposely  holds  the  natural  relation  of  Christ  to  Abraham  in 
abeyance,  in  view  of  the  paramount  importance  of  his  unchange- 
able priesthood,  which  he  contrasts  with  the  changing  priest- 
hood of  Levi.  No  sound  conclusions  can,  therefore,  be  derived 
from  Augustine's  reasoning,  which  is  so  entirely  incongruous  to 
the  scope  and  design  of  the  apostle.  We  might  add,  that,  ad- 
dressed as  was  the  argument  of  Paul  to  the  children  of  Abra- 
ham, it  is  further  conclusive  to  them,  as  their  lineage  was  traced 
in  the  public  genealogies,  in  the  line  of  the  father;  and,  since 


*  Augustinua  de  Genesi  ad  Lit.,  xii.  19. 
24 


370  The  Ehhim  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

Christ  was  without  a  human  father,  he  was  not  thus  technically 
reckoned  a  son  of  Abraham.     See  Heb.  vii.  3. 

The  suggestion  of  Augustine,  in  relation  of  the  soul  of  Christ 
being  in  Adam  in  his  apostasy,  we  will  have  occasion  to  notice 
when  we  come  to  consider  his  mediatorial  work.  We  may,  how- 
ever, remark,  that  the  opinion  to  which  we  oppose  ourselves, 
would  deprive  the  doctrine  of  the  miraculous  conception  of  all 
its  significance.  An  occurrence  to  which  the  Scriptures,  histori- 
cal and  prophetic,  point  with  the  finger  of  awe,  as  to  one  of  the 
great  mysteries  of  revelation,  is  then  reduced  to  the  trivial  fact 
that  his  body  was  begotten  out  of  the  ordinary  course  of  nature. 

The  creation  doctrine  is  exceptionable  in  subordinating  the 
divine  agency  to  the  control  of  second  causes.  It  must  be 
z  li  Creation-  admitted,  that  wherever  the  second  cause  is  present, 
ismandmira-  generation  will  take  place.  The  conclusion  is,  that 
dca-  the  creative  power  of   the  Almighty  must  wait  in 

attendance  on  these  finite  agencies,  to  provide  souls  for  the 
bodies  thus  produced.  It  does  not  obviate  this  objection  to  say 
that  the  whole  matter  is  subject  to  the  providential  ordering 
and  control  of  God.  For  however  he  may  be  recognised  aa 
providentially  supreme,  yet  is  his  creative  omnipotence  placed 
in  an  attitude  of  inferiority.  In  the  order  of  operation,  it  is  sup- 
posed to  follow  and  wait  upon  the  action  of  the  finite  causes  of 
generation. 

Again,  this  theory,  by  introducing  miracles  as  an  ordinary 
element  in  the  common  course  of  things,  and  placing  them  in  un- 
distinguishable  combination  with  natural  effects,  destroys  wholly 
the  significance  of  miraculous  occurrences ;  and  thus  sweeps  away 
all  means  of  information  as  to  the  existence  of  God  and  of  com- 
munication with  him.  A  miracle  is  an  occurrence  which  it  is 
beyond  the  power  of  natural  causes  to  produce.  Its  importance 
in  theology  consists  in  the  fact  that  it  constitutes  the  only  con- 
ceivable means  of  opening  up  intelligent  communication  between 
us  and  God.  In  fact,  whatever  the  form  in  which  the  evidences 
of  revelation  may  be  stated,  they,  in  the  last  stage  of  the  argu- 
ment, appeal  to  miracles  as  the  conclusive  fact  in  the  case.  In 
a  miracle  we  have  convincing  proof  of  the  presence  of  a  power 


sect,  x.]      Extent  of  Adams  Parental  Relation.  371 

that  is  superior  to  nature ;  that  is  to  say,  it  is  infinite.  The 
nature  of  the  miracles,  and  their  relations  to  natural  events  and 
rational  communications,  indicate  that  Power  to  be  a  moral  In- 
telligence. It  is  assumed  as  a  self-evident  proposition,  that  the 
works  of  any  agent  will  be  such  as  to  correspond  with  the  cha- 
racteristics of  his  nature ; — that  as  he  is,  so  will  he  act.  Hence 
the  conclusion  is  deduced  that  the  divine  agency  will  not  be 
exerted  except  in  a  way  correspondent  with  the  nature  of  God ; 
and  therefore  that  the  interposition  of  his  immediate  hand,  in 
concurrence  and  co-operation  with  the  agency  of  an  intelligent 
creature,  is  the  pledge  and  seal  of  his  approval  of  that  agency. 
Thus,  when  Moses  smote  the  Ked  Sea,  and  the  waters  of  it 
divided  and  stood  up  as  a  wall  on  the  one  hand  and  the  other, 
this  exertion  of  almighty  power  evinced  God's  approval  of  the 
act  of  Moses  and  of  his  expectation  thus  to  cross  the  Red  Sea. 
Our  Saviour  habitually  appealed  to  this  principle,  in  proof  of 
his  commission  from  the  Father.  "  The  works  that  I  do  in  my 
Father's  name,  they  bear  witness  of  me."  "If  I  do  not  the 
works  of  my  Father,  believe  me  not.  But  if  I  do,  though  ye 
believe  not  me,  believe  the  works ;  that  ye  may  know  and  believe 
that  the  Father  is  in  me,  and  I  in  him." — John  x.  25,  37,  38. 
Again,  he  says,  "  If  I  had  not  done  among  them  the  works  which 
none  other  man  did,  they  had  not  had  sin." — John  xv.  24.  Here 
the  principle  is  assumed  as  fundamental  and  unquestionable,  that 
the  miraculous  co-operation  of  infinite  power,  in  immediate 
connection  with  human  agency,  is  conclusive  evidence  of  God's 
approval  and  sanction  to  that  agency.  But  this  principle  can- 
not be  true,  if  it  be  a  fact  that  souls  are  immediate  creations ; 
unless  we  are  prepared  to  abandon  all  moral  distinctions  as  to 
the  sexual  relations,  and  admit  that  every  instance  of  fruitful 
intercourse  has  the  distinct  and  miraculous  seal  of  God's  ap- 
proval. This  fatal  objection  is  applicable  to  every  form  of  the 
creation  theory.  If  it  be  maintained  that  all  souls  were  created 
at  the  beginning,  and  that  they  are  from  time  to  time  inserted 
in  the  bodies, — this  latter  act  calls  for  as  signal  an  exertion  of 
God's  own  immediate  power  as  would  the  incarnation  of  an 
angel.     The  other  alternative, — that  the  souls  are  created  from 


372  The  Elolilm  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

time  to  time  as  the  bodies  become  ready  to  receive  them, — is  ex 
professo  the  introduction  of  a  miraculous  occurrence. 

The  only  way  that  we  can  conceive  in  which  the  attempt  may 
be  made  to  evade  this  conclusion,  is  by  the  assumption  that  there 
are  two  classes  of  miracles, — the  one  conveying  the  assurance  of 
God's  sanction  to  the  agency  with  which  the  miracle  is  identified ; 
the  other  serving  to  supplement  the  inadequacy  of  second  causes. 
But  such  a  distinction  must  be  purely  arbitrary.  In  all  in- 
stances of  miracles,  the  essential  characteristics  are  the  same. 
They  all  consist  in  effects  to  which  the  operation  of  second  causes 
is  inadequate.  And  if  in  any  case  it  may  be  assumed  that  the 
supernatural  power  is  put  forth  in  concurrence  with  agencies 
and  actions  which  have'  not  the  approval  of  the  infinite  One,  the 
result  is,  to  leave  us  utterly  without  any  means  of  knowing  what 
he  does  approve.  If  the  immediate  power  of  God  may  be  im- 
plicated in  concurrence  with  an  act  of  human  licentiousness,  it 
will  be  utterly  impossible  to  prove  that  it  may  not  be  implicated 
in  a  similar  way  in  connection  with  falsehood  or  imposture.  If 
it  be  said,  that  a  previous  declaration  that  God's  power  is  about 
to  be  interposed,  is  essential  to  the  evidence  involved  in  a  mi- 
racle; and  that  the  design  of  the  interposition  is  to  testify  his 
endorsement  of  the  human  instrumentality, — it  will  not  relieve 
the  case ;  for,  in  the  first  place,  such  announcement  was  not 
always  made  in  connection  with  the  miracles  recorded  in  the 
Scriptures.  As  an  illustration  of  a  large  class,  let  the  reader 
take  the  occurrence  recorded  in  John  xii.  28,  30.  Jesus  said, 
"  Father,  glorify  thy  name.  Then  came  there  a  voice  from  hea- 
ven, saying,  I  have  both  glorified  it,  and  will  glorify  it  again.  .  .  . 
Jesus  answered  and  said,  This  voice  came  not  because  of  me, 
but  for  your  sakes."  In  the  second  place,  if  this  assumption  be 
true,  it  will  follow  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  an  impostor 
to  beget  children;  should  he  announce  that  as  the  proof  of  his 
possessing  divine  authority. 

Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  the  argument  deducible 
§  12.  Cause  from  the  transmission  of  intellectual  and  moral 
and  effect.  traits  from  parents  to  their  children.  This  conside- 
ration is  entitled  to  much  greater  weight  than,  at  first  glance, 


sect,  xi.]      Extent  of  Adam  s  Parental  Relation.  373 

the  reader  may  be  disposed  to  imagine.  God,  in  forming  the 
creation,  not  only  instituted  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect,  but 
enstamped  upon  the  creatures  such  constitutions  that  the  effect 
always  bears  traces  of  the  cause;  by  means  of  which  we  may 
determine  that  a  given  effect  is  the  proof  of  the  operation  of  a 
specific  cause.  Thus,  when  we  find  the  beams  of  light  daily  ir- 
radiating our  world,  and  observe  the  various  phenomena  which 
occur  in  connection  with  this  daily  illumination,  we  unhesita- 
tingly conclude  the  existence  of  a  vast  luminary  at  the  centre 
of  the  solar  system.  When  a  man  plunges  his  knife  into  the 
heart  of  another,  the  whole  character  of  the  act  is  dependent, — not 
merely  upon  the  reality  of  the  law  of  cause  and  effect, — but  upon 
the  antecedent  assurance  that  the  wound  and  death  which  follow 
are  effects  of  the  act  and  decisive  proofs  of  its  occurrence.  When 
the  Psalmist  asserts  that  the  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  firmament  showeth  his  handiwork, — and  when  the 
apostle  testifies  that  the  heathen  world  is  inexcusable  in  failing 
to  recognise  the  God  thus  revealed, — they  both  go  upon  the  as- 
sumption, that  the  inscriptions  which  we  thus  read  in  the 
book  of  nature  are  records  of  unquestionable  truth.  In  fact, 
as  we  need  not  here  pause  to  show,  all  the  proof  that  we  have 
of  the  existence  of  God  or  of  any  thing  else,  is  dependent  upon 
the  entire  reliability  of  these  inscriptions  in  nature,  which,  in 
the  various  effects  there  perceived,  announce  the  operation  of 
definite  and  proportionate  causes.  The  operation  of  this  prin- 
ciple we  trace  with  unerring  certainty,  and  recognise  without 
hesitation,  in  the  bodies  of  men.  If  we  meet  with  a  person  in 
whom  we  recognise  the  form  and  features,  the  colour  and  hair, 
and  all  the  physical  characteristics,  of  the  African  tribes,  we  do 
not  hesitate  to  conclude  that  he  is  the  offspring  of  African 
parents ;  and  upon  this  conclusion  we  should  rest  and  act  with 
the  most  implicit  confidence.  And  this  confidence  is  based  upon 
our  belief  that  the  physical  traits  which  we  thus  recognise,  are 
inscriptions  by  the  finger  of  God,  certifying  that  the  person 
derives  his  being  from  a  source  like  himself. 

If  this  argument  is  valid  in  respect  to  the  body,  its  value  can 
be  no  less  as  applied  to  the  soul.    We  shall  not  pause  a  moment, 


374  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

to  prove  that  the  intellectual  and  moral  peculiarities  of  parents 
are  clearly  traceable  in  their  children.  It  is  a  fact  attested  by 
universal  experience,  and  acknowledged  by  universal  consent. 
Our  conclusion  is,  that  the  soul  of  the  child,  thus  clearly  marked 
with  the  parental  lineaments,  derives  its  origin  from  the  parents 
of  whom  it  is  a  copy.  It  is  true,  as  it  may  be  argued,  that  God 
could  inscribe  this  likeness,  in  creating  the  soul.  But  the  ques- 
tion is  not,  whether  his  power  is  equal  to  this ;  but,  whether  it  is 
consistent  with  his  truth  and  wisdom,  to  inscribe  a  falsehood  on 
the  nature  of  the  child, — a  falsehood  which  renders  the  proof  of 
his  own  existence  impossible,  and  utterly  confounds  all  the  rela- 
tions of  the  creatures  to  each  other  and  to  him.  For,  if  the 
parental  lineaments  on  the  soul  of  the  child  are  no  proof  of  a 
causative  relation  between  the  parents  and  that  soul,  it  must  be 
upon  the  ground  that  the  indications  of  cause  which  nature 
contains  are  not  reliable;  and,  if  this  be  true,  their  indications 
of  the  existence  of  God  may  be  false.  If  we  should  find,  at  the 
depth  of  fifty  feet  beneath  the  surface  of  the  ground,  a  tree,  with 
roots,  stock  and  branches,  and  every  characteristic  to  correspond 
with  those  which  stand  in  the  surrounding  forests,  we  would 
feel  that  he  was  trifling,  who  should  insist  that  it  was  made  and 
placed  in  its  position  at  the  first  by  the  finger  of  God.  We  should 
ask,  "  Why  did  God  enstamp  on  my  nature  that  intuitive  re- 
cognition of  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect,  by  which  I  am  im- 
pelled unavoidably,  in  the  presence  of  these  facts,  to  recognise 
the  operation  of  certain  second  causes  ?  As  he  is  Truth,  these 
facts  testify  to  me  the  truth;  and  demand  the  recognition  of 
proportionate  and  corresponding  second  causes  in  this  instance." 
So,  in  the  case  of  the  soul; — God  has  given  man  a  generative 
nature,  in  common  with  the  whole  vegetable  and  animal  world. 
Everywhere  the  law  is,  that  like  begets  like.  Man  is  an  intel- 
lectual moral  agent, — a  sinner.  His  Maker  says  to  him,  "  Be 
fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth."  His  children 
are  born  in  his  image,  in  body  and  soul ; — like  him  in  a  depravity 
which  is  predicable  of  nothing  but  the  soul.  Upon  the  whole 
case  thus  exhibited,  God's  own  word  utters  the  demand,  "  Who 
can  bring  a  clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean  ?  not  one."     Yet,  with 


sect,  xii.]    Extent  of  Adams  Parental  Relation.  375 

all  this,  we  are  asked  to  believe  that  nothing  but  the  body  pro- 
ceeds from  the  parents, — that  the  soul  comes  from  the  hand  of 
Him,  all  whose  works  are  very  good  !  Is  it  possible  to  reconcile 
this  with  the  integrity  and  steadfastness  of  the  testimonies  of 
nature,  which  declare  the  existence  of  God  himself?  If  nature 
be  chargeable  with  deception  in  the  one  case,  how  can  we  safely 
trust  her  in  the  other  ? 

Opponents  appeal  to  the  doctrine  of  justification,  and  the 
parallel  between  it  and  that  of  original  sin.  But,  in  fact,  here  lies 
the  strength  of  our  argument.  We  have  already  seen  the  parallel 
run;  and  the  argument  will  unfold  itself  more  fully  when  we 
come  to  speak  of  the  person  and  work  of  Christ. 

The  reviewer  above  quoted,  in  opposition  to  the  doctrine  here 
espoused,  urges  that  "the  reader  should  suspect  its  soundness, 
1 13  dm  it  from  the  ease  with  which  it  professes  to  brush  away 
on  original  all  the  perplexities  of  a  really  difficult  subject," — 
<"'"•  that  of  the  propagation  of  depravity.      AVe  have 

not  adopted  our  opinion  on  this  subject,  on  account  of  the  relief 
which  it  affords  from  the  greatest  difficulties  which  encumber 
the  doctrine  of  original  sin;  but,  because  we  think  it  is  taught 
in  the  word  of  God.  We  submit  it,  however,  to  the  judgment 
of  the  reader,  whether  a  theory,  the  only  apology  for  which  is 
that  it  avoids  certain  fancied  philosophical  difficulties,  is  to  be 
therefore  adopted,  because  it  originates  still  greater  ones,  on  a 
fundamental  topic  of  theology ; — difficulties  which  are  constantly 
developing  Pelagian  tendencies  in  the  church  of  God.  The  em- 
barrassment arising  from  this  cause,  has  been  continually  real- 
ized, from  the  time  of  Augustine;  and  has  given  abundant 
exercise  to  metaphysical  ingenuity,  in  the  vain  attempt  to  recon- 
cile the  contradictions  which  occur  between  the  creation  theory 
and  the  scriptural  doctrine  of  original  sin. 

Says  an  old  writer,  "  Augustine  could  not  solve  all  those  diffi- 
culties which  the  Pelagians  raised  against  original  sin,  unless  he 
held  the  traduction  of  the  soul.  He  could  not  perceive  how  the 
candle  should  be  so  soyl'd,  if  it  were  lighted  only  by  a  pure  sun- 
beam fetcht  from  heaven.  Yet  that  knot,  which  so  skilful  and 
laborious  a  hand  could  not  unty,  some  others  have  easily  cut 


376  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

asunder;  and,  indeed,  there  is  no  such  cogency  and  prevalency 
in  that  argument  as  can  j  ustly  promise  itself  the  victory.  For 
the  schoolmen,  that  are  strong  asserters  of  the  soul's  creation, 
do  satisfie  all  such  doubts  as  these."*  The  sophistries  of 
the  Pelagianizing  schoolmen  of  the  church  of  Ptome  have 
constituted  the  common  resource  of  all  those  writers  who  have 
espoused  the  creation  theory.  It  is  not,  therefore,  surprising 
that  the  doctrine  thus  constructed  should  prove  irreconcilable 
with  the  Scriptures  on  the  subject.  In  respect  to  the  propaga- 
tion of  original  sin,  orthodox  divines  are  unanimous  in  declaring 
that,  "in  general  terms,  it  is  through  a  denied  generation,  by 
which  those  who  are  corrupt  and  sinners  are  born  of  corrupt 
and  sinful  parents.  For,  as  a  man  begets  a  man,  and  a  leper  a 
leper,  it  is  not  wonderful  if  a  sinner  beget  a  child  a  sinner  like 
himself.  This,  both  nature,  and  the  condition  of  all  propagating 
animals,  show.  They  all  beget  offspring  like  themselves  in 
species,  both  as  to  the  substance  and  accidents  of  species ;  and  the 
law  of  propagation,  established  by  God  as  well  before  as  after 
the  fall,  (Gen.  ix.  1,)  demands  it.  As  therefore  before  the  fall 
God  willed  the  upright  nature  to  be  propagated;  so,  after  the 
fall,  the  nature  corrupted."!  Of  the  whole  doctrine  of  original 
sin  we  shall  treat  in  the  next  chapters.  At  present,  it  is  enough 
for  our  argument,  that  among  the  Reformed  churches  there  is 
no  question,  as  to  the  fact  that  we  sinned  in  our  first  parents, 
and  fell  with  them  in  their  first  transgression;  and  that  we  derive 
from  them,  by  ordinary  generation,  both  the  guilt  of  the  apos- 
tasy, and  depravity  of  nature.  We  have  only  space  to  glance  at 
the  argument  which  grows  out  of  the  fact,  that  whilst  the  view 
which  we  hold  as  to  the  origin  of  the  soul  is  perfectly  consistent 
with  the  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures  on  original  sin,  and  exhibits 
that  doctrine — our  opponents  themselves  being  judges — unen- 
cumbered with  any  serious  embarrassment ; — on  the  other  hand, 
their  own  theory  is  encompassed  with  difficulties,  which  are  en- 
tirely insurmountable,  by  their  own  confession, — still  more  at  the 

*  Culverwell  on  the  Light  of  Nature,  1652,  p.  91. 
f  Turrettin.,  Locus  IX.  Qu.  xii.  2. 


sect,  xiii.]     Extent  of  Adams  Parental  Relation.  377 

bar  of  impartial  judgment.  Of  them,  Turrettin  says,  that  "  some 
have  supposed  there  was  no  better  way  of  removing  them,  than 
by  the  generation  of  the  soul;  which  not  a  few  of  the  ancients 
believed ;  and  Augustine  himself  appeared  more  than  once  to  lean 
that  way.  Nor  is  there  any  question  but  that,  upon  this  theory, 
every  difficulty  seems  to  be  removed.  But,  because,  as  we  have 
already  shown,  that  opinion  corresponds  neither  with  Scripture 
nor  sound  reason,  and  is  exposed  to  many  objections,  we  cannot 
accede  to  it."* 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  after  a  laborious  attempt  to  meet  and 
master  the  objections  which  present  themselves  to  his  own 
theory,  he  closes  by  the  protestation,  that  "although  every  diffi- 
culty which  occurs  to  this  way  of  explaining  the  propagation 
of  original  sin,  should  not  seem  to  be  removed,  the  reality  of 
that  propagation,  which  is  so  plainly  asserted  in  Scripture,  and 
confirmed  by  experience,  is  to  be  none  the  less  firmly  held; 
nor,  if  we  are  unable  to  trace  the  manner  of  it,  are  we  therefore 
to  deny  or  doubt  the  fact.  Here,  it  is  sufficient,  with  Augustine, 
to  recognise  that  the  manner  of  it,  whatever  it  be,  is  just;  and 
to  acknowledge  that  it  is  incomprehensible,  "f  Equally  strong 
is  the  testimony  of  Bictet: — "As  to  the  manner  in  which  original 
sin  is  propagated,  it  is  a  most  difficult  question,  in  resolving 
which,  divines  have  always  laboured,  and  will  always  labour, 
without  being  able  to  satisfy  themselves."!  So  much  therefore 
is  unquestionable.  On  the  admission  that  the  soul  is  created, 
the  doctrine  of  original  sin  becomes  altogether  inexplicable. 
We  ask,  Can  more  than  this  be  said,  by  way  of  objection  to 
the  doctrine  of  the  generation  of  the  whole  man? 

But  this  theory  not  only  renders  the  doctrine  of  original  sin 
inexplicable.  It  is  in  fact  irreconcilably  hostile  to  that  doc- 
1 14.  Creation  trine.  If  the  soul  be  an  immediate  creation  of  God, 
theory  on  it.  two  conclusions  are  unavoidable.  The  first  is,  that 
the  souls  of  Adam's  posterity  were  not  in  him  at  all;  and,  con- 
sequently, did  not  and  could  not  sin  in  him,  nor  fall  in  him.  The 
second  is,  that  they  cannot  be  originally  depraved.     The  works 

*  Turrettin.,  Locus  IX.  Qu.  xii.  6.  f  Ibid.  \  18. 

\  Pictet's  Theology,  Book  IV.  Ch.  v. 


378  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

of  God  cannot  but  be,  like  him,  good.  And  it  is  impossible  that 
moral  agents,  created  immediately  by  him,  should  come  from  his 
hand  corrupt.  To  suppose  it  so,  would  be  to  charge  God  with 
being  the  author  of  depravity  and  sin.  The  inquirer  who  will 
search  the  pages  of  the  most  orthodox  writers,  that  have  at- 
tempted to  reconcile  the  difficulties  here  suggested,  will  find 
nothing  but  a  strange  mixture  of  Pelagian  and  Manichean 
theories,  veiled  under  the  subtleties  of  the  scholastic  terminology. 
In  respect  to  the  fact  that,  if  the  soul  is  an  immediate  creation, 
it  was  not  in  Adam,  we  are  told  that,  "although  the  souls  were 
not  in  Adam,  as  to  origin  of  essence,  because  they  are  created 
by  God,  they  are  rightly  said  to  have  been  in  him,  as  to  origin 
of  subsistence,  so  far  forth  as  they  were  to  be  joined  to  bodies  as 
constituent  parts  of  those  persons  who  are  sons  of  Adam,  and 
who  therefore  in  this  respect  are  rightly  accounted  guilty  in 
Adam."*  That  is  to  say,  it  was  the  design  of  God,  at  the  time 
of  the  creation  of  Adam,  to  create  a  series  of  souls  out  of  nothing 
by  his  own  sole  and  immediate  power,  and  cause  them  to  dwell 
for  a  time  in  clay,  which  should  hold  a  sort  of  vegetative  relation 
to  that  in  which  the  souls  which  apostatized  in  the  garden  dwelt. 
Therefore,  it  may  be  truly  said  that  our  souls  were  in  those 
apostates,  and  sinned  in  them,  and  are  now  therefore  guilty !  Is 
such  the  idea  which  God's  word  gives  of  the  extent  of  our  rela- 
tion to  Adam ;  and  responsibility  for  his  sin  ?  Is  this  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Preformed  confessions  ?  That  which  saves  the  state- 
ment from  self-convicted  absurdity  is  the  obscure  terminology 
in  which  the  doctrine  is  clothed.  To  say  that  we  were  not  in 
Adam  as  to  essence,  but  were  so  as  to  subsistence,  has  a  sound 
which  may  pass  for  something  more,  if  not  too  closely  examined. 
And  yet  even  the  speciousness  of  this  phraseology  is  dependent 
upon  a  false  assumption.  The  theory  which  it  purports  to  state 
is  inconsistent  even  with  the  position  that  we  were  in  Adam  as 
to  origin  of  subsistence.  For  it  is  a  part  of  the  doctrine  that 
God,  and  not  Adam,  was  the  cause  of  our  subsistence,  by  inserting 
the  newly-created  souls  into  the  bodies. 

*  Turrettin.,  Locus  IX.  Qu.  xii.  10. 


sect,  xiv.]    Extent  of  Adams  Parental  Relation.  379 

As  to  the  difficulty  in  respect  to  the  propagation  of  depravity, 
on  the  supposition  of  the  creation  of  the  soul,  orthodox  writers 
vacillate  between  a  Manichean  ascription  of  the  original  cor- 
ruption to  the  body, — a  covert  reference  of  it  to  God  as  the 
author, — and  a  scholastic  semi-Pelagianism,  which  represents  the 
soul  as  created  neither  holy  nor  unholy,  and  attributes  its  ulti- 
mate depravity  to  surrounding  circumstances.  The  first  theory 
alluded  to,  has  a  singular  similarity  to  the  heresy  of  Manes,  not 
only  in  attributing  moral  depravity  to  the  corporeal  frame,  as 
such ;  but,  also,  in  the  recognition  of  an  element  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  man,  which  is  neither  corporeal  nor  purely  spiritual.  It 
is  variously  designated,  as,  "the  animal  and  vital  spirits," — "the 
dispositions  of  the  body," — "the  system  of  bodily  appetites  and 
propensities,  with  the  fancy  and  imagination."  These  are  not 
allowed  to  be  attributes  of  the  soul;  for,  whilst  the  soul  is  de- 
scribed as  created,  and  without  native  impurity,  these  are  re- 
cognised as  descending  from  Adam,  depraved,  and  operating  to 
the  depravation  of  the  soul.  On  the  other  hand,  they  certainly 
are  not  matter,  nor  phenomena  of  mere  matter.  In  both  this 
and  the  heresy  of  Manes,  there  is  the  same  contrast  of  the  im- 
mediately divine  original  of  the  soul,  as  compared  with  that  of 
the  body.  In  both,  there  is  the  same  doctrine  of  the  soul's 
essential  and  original  freedom  from  moral  evil.  In  both,  there 
is  the  same  attributing  of  it  to  the  material  body ;  and  the  same 
associating  with  it  of  a  tertium  quid,  which  Manes  represented  as 
a  sensuous  soul,  and  the  modern  theory  designates  by  the  names 
of  its  several  attributes,  but  describes  in  terms  which  identify 
it  as  the  same.  In  both,  this  and  the  body  are  the  agencies 
which  embrace  the  soul  as  in  a  prison,  and  bring  it  under  an 
involuntary  and  necessary  defilement  and  guilt.  "They  having 
become  irregular,  excessive,  and  perverted  by  the  fall,"  says  a 
highly  respectable  writer,  "do  unavoidably  corrupt  the  soul,  and 
enslave  it  to  sin." 

The  theory  that  the  souls  were,  at  their  first  creation,  neither 
pure  nor  impure,  but  simply  not-pure,  involves  and  grew  out  of 
an  entirely  false  conception  as  to  the  true  nature  of  original 
righteousness  and  depravity.      Says  Luther,   "  The  schoolmen 


380  The  EloJiim  Revealed,  [chap.  xi. 

argue  that  original  righteousness  was  not  connatural ;  that  is, 
not  a  part  of  human  nature  as  originally  created ;  but  a  certain 
ornament  only,  additionally  bestowed  upon  man  as  a  separate 
gift; — just  as  if  we  should  place  a  garland  on  the  head  of  a 
beautiful  maiden.  A  garland  is,  certainly,  no  part  of  the 
nature  of  a  virgin,  but  a  something  added  from  without,  and 
might  be  taken  away  again  without  any  violation  of  her  nature. 
These  schoolmen,  therefore,  argue,  both  concerning  man  and 
concerning  devils  also,  that,  although  they  lost  their  original 
righteousness,  yet  their  natural  properties  remained  pure  as 
they  were  originally  created.  This  doctrine,  however,  as  it 
takes  from  the  magnitude  of  original  sin,  is  to  be  shunned  as 
a  deadly  poison."*  Thus  justly  does  the  illustrious  Reformer 
characterize  this  Romish  corruption  of  scriptural  doctrine.  Yet 
is  it  the  very  theory  to  which  recourse  is  had  in  the  present 
instance.  The  soul  is  created  in  a  not-pure  state;  that  is, 
neither  holy  nor  depraved.  But  what  does  this  mean  ?  A  soul, 
in  whatever  condition,  is  a  creature,  invested  with  certain  at- 
tributes, which  must  hold  specific  and  clearly  defined  relations  to 
the  law  of  God.  If  active  the  law  demands  conformity  of  action 
to  its  precept.  If  inactive  or  quiescent,  still  does  the  law 
assert  its  authority,  demanding  that  the  attitude  of  the  powers 
shall  be  in  conformity  with  its  holiness.  To  talk  of  a  soul 
which  has  not  a  moral  nature,  is  absurd.  To  describe  a  creature 
possessed  of  a  moral  nature,  which  yet  sustains  no  specific  re- 
lation to  the  moral  law,  is  a  contradiction  in  terms.  To  imagine 
such  a  creature  occupying  a  position  of  neutrality  as  respects 
the  obligations  of  the  law  thus  laying  hold  of  its  nature,  is 
equally  absurd.  An  irrational  beast,  a  stock,  or  a  stone,  may 
be  merely  not-pure.  For  all  that  the  phrase  can  mean  is,  that 
moral  relations  are  not  predicable  of  it.  But  in  no  stage  in  the 
existence  of  the  human  soul,  neither  in  the  order  of  thought, 
nor  in  fact,  can  it  be  otherwise  than  responsible  to  the  law,  and, 
therefore,  in  an  attitude  of  conformity  or  of  non-conformity  to 
it.     It  must  be  either  pure  or  impure. 

*  Luther  on  the  first  five  chapters  of  Genesis,  Edinburgh,  1858,  p.  220. 


sect,  xiv.]  Extent  of  Adams  Parental  Relation.  381 

We  cannot  pursue  the  subject  in  further  detail.  The  whole 
theory,  however  explained,  involves  the  entire  severance  of  the 
race  from  Adam,  and  the  denial  that  we  either  were  in  him,  or 
sinned  in  him,  or  are  depraved  by  the  propagation  of  his  cor- 
ruption. This  is  implicitly  admitted  by  Van  Mastricht,  when 
he  says,  "Augustine,  of  old,  and  many  of  the  fathers,  many 
of  the  Lutherans,  and  some  of  the  Reformed,  because  they 
could  not  otherwise  conceive  of  the  propagation  of  original  cor- 
ruption, supposed  it  to  be  by  seminal  traduction,  by  which  the 
whole  man,  and  therefore  both  body  and  soul  alike,  is  propa- 
gated. The  first  error  of  these  all  is  this,  that  they  suppose 
corruption,  numerically  the  same  with  Adam's,  to  be  propa- 
gated; whereas  it  is  only  the  same  in  species."*  If  it  is  not 
numerically  the  same,  it  comes  not  to  us  from  him.  Its  origin 
is  not,  then,  in  him.  He  was  only  the  first  sinner  in  order  of 
time.  The  alternative  is,  that  each  soul  successively  apostatizes ; 
or,  that  they  are  created  corrupt.  Such  are  the  inconsistencies 
to  which  the  most  orthodox  writers  are  led,  when  they  attempt 
to  vindicate  the  creation  theory,  in  consistency  with  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Scriptures  respecting  the  nature  of  man.  This 
same  excellent  and  orthodox  divine,  when  expounding  the  doc- 
trine of  original  sin,  and  defending  it  against  Pelagian  objec- 
tions, entirely  forgets  the  position  here  taken.  In  reply  to  the 
assertion  that  "  we  neither  existed,  nor  consented  to  Adam's 
sin,"  he  says,  "  But  we  did  exist,  and  consent,  and  sin,  in  our 
cause,  in  the  one  Adam.  Rom.  v.  12.  They  object  that  the  sin 
itself  does  not  exist,  and  therefore  cannot  be  imputed.  But, 
although  it  does  not  exist  physically,  yet  it  does  exist  morally, 
in  the  same  sense  in  which  any  sins,  the  physical  action  being 
past,  remain  morally,  "f  We  leave  the  reader  to  determine 
how,  these  latter  positions  being  true,  the  other  can  stand;  or 
the  soul  be  recognised  as  a  new  creation  of  a  holy  God. 
g  15.  Reca-  We  might  pursue  the  subject  further.  But  we 
pituiation.  trust  it  is  already  apparent  how  little  is  gained,  and 
at  what  a  disproportionate  cost,  by  denying  the  generation  of 

*  Van  Mastricht,  Lib.  iv.  cap.  ii.  g  35.  f  Ibid.  \  24. 


382  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xi. 

the  whole  man,  and  asserting  the  creation  of  the  human  soul. 
A  doctrine,  more  encumbered  with  insuperable  difficulties,  it 
seems  to  us,  could  hardly  be  imagined.  At  the  outset,  it  strips 
the  soul  of  moral  agency  and  accountability  in  the  attempt  to 
divest  it  of  that  moral  purity,  of  which,  if  the  immediate 
workmanship  of  God,  it  must  be  possessed.  By  way  of  com- 
pensation for  this  extraordinary  representation,  it  exhibits  the 
body  as  a  moral  agent,  invested  with  a  depravity  which  does 
not  consist  in  perverted  reason,  conscience  or  will, — for  it  has 
none  of  these ;  which  does  not  consist  in  hostility  to  the  law, — for 
the  law  is  addressed  to  intelligence  and  will ; — a  depravity  which 
is,  by  admission,  not  properly  predicable  of  the  body  at  all;  and 
which  is  confessedly  existent  no  otherwise  than  inchoate  and  in 
a  latent  tendency.  This  latent  and  inconceivable  depravity  of 
the  body,  it  nevertheless  clothes  with  such  power  as  to  defile  the 
soul,  by  an  influence,  which,  although  exerted  by  mere  matter, 
is  denied  to  be  a  physical  force ;  and,  although  there  is  no  possible 
intervening  instrumentality,  is  denied  to  be  an  immediate  influ- 
ence. Forgetful  of  the  necessity  of  a  suitable  subject  of  which 
to  predicate  them,  appetites  and  passions,  dispositions  and  imagi- 
nation, are  recognised  as  descending  from  Adam,  by  natural  genera- 
tion; and  are  called  in  to  aid  the  body  in  depraving  the  soul; — thus 
reducing  the  advocates  of  this  scheme  to  the  dilemma  of  attri- 
buting these  to  the  mere  body, — which  is  materialism ;  of  ac- 
knowledging that,  belonging  to  the  soul,  they  with  it  descend 
from  Adam ;  or  of  taking  refuge  in  the  Manichean  fiction  of  a 
sensuous  soul,  belonging  to  the  body,  and  distinct  from  the  pure 
and  heaven-originated  spirit.  It  attributes  to  the  body,  in  con- 
junction with  the  appetites  and  imagination,  a  creative  power, 
in  the  production  of  new  and  depraved  forces,  to  the  eradication 
of  which,  the  infinite  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  requisite.  The 
in-being  in  Adam,  of  which  the  Scriptures  so  unequivocally 
speak,  is,  in  the  crucible  of  this  theory,  reduced  to  the  inane 
idea,  that,  having  been  in  the  mind  of  God  designed  to  occupy 
bodies  derived  from  Adam's  body,  the  souls  of  all  the  human 
family  may,  therefore,  be  said  to  have  been  in  Adam;  although 
he  was  neither  the  cause  of  their  essence  nor  subsistence ;  of  the 


sect,  xv.]     Extent  of  Adams  Parental  Relation.  383 

first  of  which,  God  was  the  creative  cause,  and  of  the  second, 
the  efficient,  by  uniting  them  to  their  bodies.  In  short,  the 
whole  aspect  of  the  case  is  that  of  a  deadly  struggle  between 
the  theory  here  set  forth  and  the  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures  on 
our  relation  to  Adam; — a  struggle  in  which,  by  the  assistance  of 
subtle  distinctions  and  definitions,  the  terms  of  the  Bible  doctrine 
are  permitted  to  stand,  but  robbed  of  their  true  significance.  It 
cannot  be  a  matter  of  surprise,  that,  in  such  circumstances,  it 
should  continually  happen,  that  wherever  a  philosophic  spirit  is 
developed,  this  antagonism  is  brought  into  action;  and  the 
weapons  here  furnished  are  turned  against  the  doctrine  of  original 
sin.  Pelagianism  is  not  the  only  form  of  heresy.  The  doctrine 
concerning  the  nature  of  man  is  not  the  only  doctrine  to  which 
the  carnal  mind  is  naturally  hostile.  And  yet  this  has  been  the 
starting-point  of  almost  every  defection  which  has  occurred  in 
the  Reformed  church.  "Whatever  the  ultimate  shape  which  here- 
sies have  assumed,  the  first  step  has  almost  invariably  been, 
some  form  of  error  on  the  subject  of  original  sin.  We  are  per- 
suaded that  the  secret  of  this  is  to  be  traced  to  the  theory  of  the 
creation  of  the  soul  and  propagation  of  sin,  here  examined. 

We  have  glanced  at  a  few  passages  of  the  Scriptures  in  which 
our  doctrine  is  formally  asserted,  or  involved  by  direct  and  in- 
evitable implication.  But  it  would  be  an  utter  mistake  to 
imagine  that  the  Scripture  argument  in  its  favour  is  limited  to 
a  series  of  minute  criticisms  upon  isolated  passages  in  the  Bible. 
On  the  contrary,  the  idea  of  the  derivation  of  our  entire  being 
from  our  parents  runs  through  every  part  of  the  book,  and  re- 
appears continually  in  every  variety  of  form.  From  the  nature 
of  the  case,  we  are  cut  off  from  this  aspect  of  the  argument. 
To  its  elucidation  volumes  would  be  requisite,  instead  of  a  few 
pages.  The  doctrine  in  question  constantly  occurs  in  the  histo- 
rical scriptures,  either  in  the  way  of  formal  statement,  or  of 
allusion,  as  to  an  unquestioned  and  unquestionable  fact.  In 
the  poetic  books,  whether  narrative,  prophetic,  or  devotional, 
whether  prayer  or  praise,  it  everywhere  presents  itself;  at  one 
time,  the  theme  of  admiring  contemplation  in  reference  to  the 
wonderful  nature  of  the  phenomena,  and  at  another  the  subject 


384  The  Elolvlm  Revealed.  [chap.  si. 

of  penitential  confession  in  view  of  the  corruption  so  derived. 
In  the  doctrinal  scriptures,  it  is  made  the  basis  of  the  whole 
doctrine  of  our  ruin  and  the  whole  system  of  grace.  They 
everywhere  predicate  it,  as  fundamental  to  all  the  representa- 
tions and  arguments  which  they  exhibit  on  these  subjects.  This 
doctrine  is  thus  inwrought  into  the  very  texture  of  the  Bible ; 
recurring  continually,  without  any  caution  whatever,  by  which 
the  begetting  asserted  should  be  limited  to  the  body ;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  contemplating  the  moral  nature  much  more  than  the 
physical.  On  the  other  hand,  but  a  single  passage — Heb.  xii. 
9 — is  adduced  from  the  whole  Bible,  which  it  can  be  pretended 
even  seems  to  look  the  other  way.  And  in  that  case  the  seem- 
ing is  consequent  upon  a  forced  interpretation,  at  variance  with 
the  accustomed  meaning  of  the  language  employed,  as  well  as 
with  the  analogy  of  Scripture,  thus  so  complete.  We  make  this 
statement,  because  it  must  be  evident  to  any  candid  interpreter, 
that  the  scriptures  which  merely  declare  God  to  be  the  maker 
of  the  soul,  are  no  more  conclusive  to  the  purpose  for  which 
they  are  usually  cited  on  this  subject,  than  would  be  the  addition 
of  those  which  speak  with  at  least  equal  emphasis  of  the  body, 
to  prove  that  both  body  and  soul  are  the  immediate  workman- 
ship of  God,  and  that  the  human  species  is  not  propagated  by 
generation  at  all ! 

Add  the  fact,  that  orthodox  opposers  of  our  doctrine  admit  its 
truth  in  legal  intendment,  and  predicate  its  constructive  verity 
as  the  fundamental  basis,  upon  which  rests  the  whole  system  of 
God's  dealings  with  our  ruined  and  apostate  world.  In  view 
of  these  considerations,  to  which  we  might  add  many  others, 
we  feel  fully  justified  in  planting  ourselves  firmly  upon  the 
position,  that  the  entire  being  of  the  child,  body  and  soul,  in  its 
unity,  is  derived  by  generation  from  the  parents ; — that  our 
whole  nature,  in  all  its  elements,  flows  to  us  from  the  first 
parents  of  the  race.  This  we  take  to  be  the  unambiguous  tes- 
timony of  the  whole  word  of  God. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   APOSTASY   OF   ADAM. 

The  rich,  endowments  with  which  Adam  was  crowned,  and 
the  condescending  grace  with  which  he  was  dealt,  were  unavail- 
. ,  „        7 j     ins;  to  hold  him  to  integrity.     In  regard  to  the  fall 

g  1.  How  could  O  O       J  o 

a  holy  being  of  our  first  parents,  we  shall  not  attempt  to  show 
fM  ?  how  sin  entered  into  the  world.  No  man  can  explain 

how  the  first  unholy  emotion  could  find  lodgment  in  the  heart 
of  a  holy  being, — angel  or  man ;  or  how  suggestions  of  sin  could 
constitute  temptation  to  the  holy;  since  it  would  seem  that, 
to  exert  any  power,  they  must  appeal  to  unholy  propensities; 
which  as  yet  had  no  existence.  No  system  of  theology,  nor 
scheme  of  deism,  can  solve  this  problem.  The  fact  stands  at- 
tested, not  only  by  the  word  of  God,  but  by  the  whole  history 
of  man.  It  all  proclaims  him  to  be  a  fallen  being;  once  exalted 
in  dignity  and  purity,  but  now  sinful,  degraded  and  lost.  But, 
how  this  could  be,  is  one  of  the  hidden  things  of  God. 

The  attempt  is  sometimes  made  to  explain  the  apostasy,  by 
the  assumption,  that  a  proclivity  to  defection  is  of  the  very  nature 
of  created  beings ;  and  that  therefore  apostasy  was  the  inevitable 
consequence  of  the  withholding  of  special  divine  support  from 
Adam.  But  the  supposition  will  not  bear  a  moment's  examina- 
tion. The  creatures  possess  precisely  those  powers  which  God 
has  conferred,  and  no  others.  To  suppose  a  downward  tendency 
to  be  essential  to  them,  is  to  charge,  that  God,  in  making  them, 
has  incorporated  in  their  being  a  perverse  energy,  by  which  they 
are  forced  astray.  But  this  is  absurd  and  blasphemous.  What- 
ever God  made  was  very  good, — an  epithet  which  applies  to 
every  faculty  and  every  attribute  of  the  creatures,  as  they  pro- 
ceeded from  his  hand.     To  say  that  he  implanted  in  them  a  dis- 

25  385 


38G  The  Elohim  Revealed,  [chap.  xii. 

position  to  turn  from  him,  which  it  requires  his  own  omnipotence 
to  restrain,  is  to  make  Adam  to  have  been  created,  not  holy,  but 
depraved;  and  God  to  be  the  author  of  man's  apostasy  and  sins. 
Whilst,  however,  we  know  not  how  a  being,  created  holy,  could 
be  turned  aside  to  sin,  thus  much  we  do  know, — that  man's 
apostasy  came  to  pass  through  the  free  agency  of  our  first 
parents.  They  were  created  with  a  nature  which  was  cha- 
racterized by  affinities  of  various  kinds.  Some  of  these  soared 
upward  toward  the  Holy  One,  and  found  satisfaction  and  growth 
in  contemplations  of  his  glory,  in  praises  of  his  attributes,  and 
communion  with  him  by  the  Spirit.  These  holy  affinities  were 
endowed  with  an  original  strength  and  vigour,  which  gave  them 
the  mastery  over  the  whole  being.  Yet  was  not  theirs  such  a 
preponderance  as  was  absolutely  overwhelming, — such  a  mastery 
as  implied  undisputed  supremacy,  and  confirmed  dominion.  If 
Adam  is  ever  established  in  holiness,  it  must  be  not,  by  a  creative 
endowment,  to  him  involuntary,  and  therefore  without  merit  or 
honour;  but  through  constant  vigilance,  and  a  diligent  use  of 
the  faculties  which  he  possessed,  and  improvement  of  the  means 
which  were  within  his  reach, — the  study  of  the  Creator's  cha- 
racter, communion  with  him,  and  recourse  to  his  Spirit  for 
strength.  Contrasted,  but  not  opposed,  to  these,  were  another 
class  of  affinities,  which  laid  hold  of  the  world,  the  creatures  and 
self,  in  an  embrace,  vigorous,  though  inferior  in  strength  to  that 
which  went  forth  to  God.  These  affinities,  and  the  affections  and 
emotions  which  were  correspondent  with  them,  were  in  them- 
selves right;  and  were  designed  and  perfectly  adapted  to  sub- 
serve man's  happiness,  and  to  the  fulfilment  of  his  great  end, — 
his  Maker's  honour.  But  these  principles  are  thus  innocent  and 
safe,  only  so  long  as  they  wait  in  subservience  to  the  higher 
considerations  of  God's  love  and  glory.  The  assumption  by 
them  of  the  sceptre  and  the  throne,  is  of  itself  apostasy  from 
God;  it  is,  to  worship  and  serve  the  creature  more  than  the 
Creator ;  and  inasmuch  as  the  claim  of  God  to  the  supremacy  is 
persistent  and  uncompromising,  and  therefore  utterly  inconsist- 
ent with  the  supremacy  of  earthly  things, — the  result  is,  not 
merely  inferior  love,  but  hostility  to  God,  and  an  utter  refusal 


sect,  i.]  The  Apostasy  of  Adam.  387 

of  all  allegiance  to  him.  Thus,  although  heavenly  principles 
were  implanted  in  Adam,  and  placed  on  the  throne  of  his  nature, 
they  were  not  made  independent  of  culture  and  care;  nor  in- 
vested with  a  power  which  might  not  be  broken,  through  neglect 
and  sloth.  Whilst  other  principles  were  associated  with  these, 
and  even  innocence  might  indulge  in  earthly  enjoyments  and 
the  pleasures  of  sense,  it  must  be  with  a  moderation  and  wisdom, 
to  appreciate  them  at  their  true  and  subordinate  value ;  and  with 
a  watchfulness  and  care  proportionate  to  the  greatness  of  the 
interests  at  stake,  and  the  danger  that  these  lawful  but  powerful 
inmates  of  the  heart  may  become  usurpers  of  its  throne. 

Thus  was  Adam  constituted  in  the  day  of  his  creation.  Two 
sets  of  principles  fill  the  balances  in  his  heart.  And,  although 
the  kindness  and  love  of  his  Maker  has,  with  creative  hand,  given 
the  claims  of  God  and  holiness  a  superior  weight,  which  presses 
down  the  scale,  yet  does  he  not  thus,  by  mere  sovereignty,  seal 
the  nature  and  control  the  liberty  of  his  creature.  Man  himself 
is  placed  upon  the  throne  and  invested  with  a  royal  freedom, 
by  his  own  choice  to  determine  his  character,  and  at  his  discre- 
tion to  fix  his  own  eternal  destiny.  He  was  endowed  with  per- 
fect holiness  and  rectitude,  and  with  a  free  will,  which,  whilst 
perfectly  competent,  in  the  use  of  the  appropriate  means,  to 
continuance  in  uprightness,  was  unlimited  in  the  alternative  set 
before  him, — to  choose  the  evil  or  the  good,  the  blessing  or  the 
curse.  The  tempter  comes,  and  with  wily  art  suits  his  seduc- 
tions to  the  nature  of  his  victims.  He  appeals  to  innocent  appe- 
tites. He  only  persuades  to  criminal  indulgence.  To  Eve's 
love  of  beauty  he  presents  the  tree  "  beautiful  to  the  eye."  To 
her  sensual  appetite  he  urges  that  it  is  "good  for  food."  Her 
ambition  is  fired  by  the  assurance,  "Ye  shall  be  as  gods,"  and 
her  thirst  for  knowledge  by  the  mystic  virtue  of  the  fruit,  "  to 
be  desired  to  make  one  wise."  Her  fears  are  hushed  by  his 
swearing  to  the  lie  that  they  "  shall  not  surely  die."  Her  senses, 
excited  in  view  of  the  seen  and  attractive  object,  render  her  all 
unconscious  of  the  presence  of  the  holy  and  unseen  God ;  and 
the  ardour  of  her  appetites,  aroused  and  burning  for  sensual 
pleasure,  induces  entire  forgetfulness  of  the  higher  pleasures 


388  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xir. 

realized  in  his  service,  and  the  superior  joys  flowing  from  his 
smile.  The  temptation  finds  lodging  in  the  breast  of  hapless 
Eve.  "  When  the  woman  saw  that  the  tree  was  good  for  food, 
and  that  it  was  pleasant  to  the  eyes,  and  a  tree  to  be  desired  to 
make  one  wise,  she  took  of  the  fruit  thereof,  and  did  eat ;  and 
gave  also  unto  her  husband  with  her,  and  he  did  eat." — Gen. 
iii.  6.  Thus  the  appetites  plead;  conscience  is  hushed;  holy 
considerations  are  forgotten ;  the  reason  weighs ;  the  choice  is 
made ;  the  fatal  fruit  is  plucked ;  and  man  is  fallen !  Of  the 
process  of  Adam's  overthrow,  we  have  not  so  detailed  an  account. 
Enough,  however,  is  revealed  to  enable  us  to  see  that,  although 
different  in  the  form  of  assault,  the  temptation  was  essentially 
the  same  in  its  nature.  To  her  it  comes  in  the  guise  of  beautiful 
fruit ;  to  him,  in  the  form  of  his  lovely  wife.  Shall  he  forego  all 
the  sweets  of  her  companionship  ?  Shall  he  cast  her  out  of  the 
temple  of  his  affections  as  an  unclean  and  accursed  thing, — an 
abhorring  to  his  soul  ?  Or,  contemning  the  sovereignty  of  God, 
defying  his  wrath,  and  refusing  his  favour  and  his  love,  shall  he 
join  in  her  sin,  and  so  share  her  doom,  whatever  it  be?  The 
fatal  choice  is  made ;  and  man,  for  love  of  woman,  turns  his  back 
on  God.  Thus  "  our  first  parents,  being  left  to  the  freedom  of 
their  own  will,  fell  from  the  estate  wherein  they  were  created, 
by  sinning  against  God." 

In  the  transgression  of  our  first  parents,  two  things  are  to  be 
carefully  distinguished ;  viz.,  the  heart  sin  and  the  overt  act, — the 
3  2.  Process  apostasy,  and  its  first  fruit.  The  law  of  God  had 
of  the  apos-  been  already  violated ;  man  was  fallen  before  the  fruit 
tcsy.  ka(j  ]Deen  plucked,  or  the  rebellion  thus  signalized. 

The  law  not  only  required  outward  obedience,  but  especially 
claimed  the  fealty  of  the  heart ;  and  this  was  withdrawn  before 
any  outward  token  had  indicated  the  sad  change.  That  Eve 
well  understood  this  heart-searching  demand  of  the  divine  law, 
is  clearly  evidenced  by  her  reply  to  the  serpent's  insidious  inter- 
rogatory about  the  tree.  The  tempter  said  to  the  woman,  "  Yea, 
hath  God  said,  Ye  shall  not  eat  of  every  tree  of  the  garden  ? 
And  the  woman  said  unto  the  serpent,  We  may  eat  of  the  fruit 
of  the  trees  of  the  garden ;  but  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  which 


sect,  i.]  The  Apostasy  of  Adam.  389 

is  in  the  midst  of  the  garden,  God  hath  said,  Ye  shall  not  eat  of 
it,  neither  shall  ye  touch  it,  lest  ye  die." — Gen.  iii.  1-3.  In  refer- 
ence to  this  reply  of  Eve,  a  certain  writer  absurdly  remarks  that 
"Eve's  first  sin  was  lying;  for  God  had  not  forbidden  them  to 
touch  the  tree."  On  the  contrary,  her  language  truly  expresses 
the  force  of  the  divine  requirement,  as  forbidding  the  allowance 
of  a  covetous  emotion,  or  a  desiring  approach  to  the  forbidden 
object.  Equally  without  reason  seems  to  be  Henry's  supposition 
that  the  serpent  "  took  advantage  by  finding  Eve  near  the  for- 
bidden tree,  and  probably  gazing  upon  the  fruit  of  it,  only  to 
satisfy  her  curiosity.  They  that  would  not  eat  the  forbidden 
fruit  must  not  come  near  the  forbidden  tree."  The  form  of  the 
question  of  Satan,  which  is  evidently  framed  for  the  purpose  of 
calling  her  attention  to  the  tree,  shows  her  not  to  have  been  at 
the  time  in  the  act  of  gazing  upon  it.  "  Yea,  hath  God  said,  Ye 
shall  not  eat  of  every  tree?"  He  does  not  say,  "of  this  tree." 
So,  too,  the  terms  in  which,  in  her  reply,  she  describes  the  tree, 
show  her  not  to  have  been  immediately  by  it  so  as  to  look  upon 
it : — "  Of  the  tree  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  garden,  [not  "  of 
this  tree,"]  God  hath  said."  So  far  from  the  fact  of  Eve  being 
supposed  near  the  tree  implying  any  thing  improper  or  un- 
guarded, it  was  the  duty  of  the  pair  to  cultivate  that,  as  well 
as  all  other  parts  of  the  garden,  and,  if  need  be,  to  dress  and 
keep  that,  as  well  as  the  other  trees.  Temptation  is  to  be 
avoided,  not  by  flying  from  the  path  of  duty,  but  in  that  path, 
by  watchfulness  and  prayer.  Thus  far  Eve  has  not  only  main- 
tained her  integrity,  but,  by  the  recollection  and  statement  alike 
of  God's  beneficent  care  and  his  just  command,  has  recognised 
her  obligations,  and  rendered  transgression  inexcusable. 

The  first  criminal  emotion  which  stirred  in  her  heart  would 
seem  to  have  been  dissatisfaction  with  the  endowments,  temporal 
and  spiritual,  which  she  and  her  husband  enjoyed  from  the  hands 
of  the  gracious  Creator.  The  luxuriant  fruitfulness  of  a  virgin 
world,  and  the  delicious  treasures  of  a  garden  planted  by  God, 
were  poured  at  their  feet.  Their  home  was  adorned  with  the 
attractions  of  "  every  tree  that  was  pleasant  to  the  sight."  The 
animal  tribes  were  made  obedient  to  their  will ;  and  God  himself 


390  The  Elohlm  Revealed.  [chap.  xii. 

condescended  to  be  their  instructor,  companion  and  friend. 
Earth  full  of  delights  was  their  present  possession;  and  life 
eternal  in  heaven  their  prospective  inheritance.  Yet  all  these 
rich  blessings  were  now  disesteemed  by  the  foolish  heart  of  our 
falling  mother.  All  was  not  enough  to  secure  perfect  content 
and  convey  complete  happiness,  whilst  one  object  presented  itself 
which  God  reserved  as  his  own. 

The  next  step  was,  doubt  as  to  the  truthfulness  of  God.  He 
had  declared,  "  In  the  day  that  thou  eatest  thereof,  thou  shalt 
surely  die."  This  declaration  was  present  to  her  memory,  and 
repeated  by  her  to  the  serpent.  The  tempter  ventures,  in  most 
arrogant  and  atrocious  terms,  to  charge  the  Holy  One  not  only 
with  falsehood,  but  with  an  imbecile  jealousy  and  fraud,  lest  his 
creatures  should  attain  to  the  exaltation  of  godhead,  in  deroga- 
tion of  his  divinity.  And  Eve  believed  the  lie,  impious  and 
absurd  though  it  was,  and  disbelieved  the  testimony  of  her 
Maker,  the  pledges  of  whose  love  shone  all  around  her. 

Immediately  there  sprang  up  in  her  an  atrocious  wish  and 
hope  of  independence  of  the  wisdom  and  authority  of  God. 
Satan  assured  her  that  the  reason  of  the  threatening  of  death 
was,  that  God  knew  that  the  fruit  would  make  them  as  gods. 
And,  belief  in  God's  truth  and  reverence  for  his  authority 
being  lost,  no  falsehood  is  too  preposterous  for  belief,  and  no  as- 
piration too  lofty  or  too  impious  to  be  cherished.  "The  woman 
saw  that  it  was  a  tree  to  be  desired  to  make  one  wise,"  to  "be 
as  gods;"  and  "she  took  thereof  and  did  eat;  and  gave  also  to 
her  husband  with  her,  and  he  did  eat."  Thus  aspiring  after  a 
knowledge  independent  of  God,  and  forbidden  by  him,  and  aim- 
ing at  an  elevation  of  rank  to  equality  with  him,  they  gained 
the  hapless  discovery  of  intellects  clouded,  of  holiness  lost,  of 
happiness  forfeited,  and  of  ruin  incurred.  Instead  of  becoming 
as  gods,  they  lost  their  former  fellowship  with  God,  and  became 
as  devils,  cast  down  in  sin  to  misery  and  woe. 

In  short,  the  position  of  our  first  parents  was  one  of  atheistic 
unbelief.  Whilst  they  sought  divinity  for  themselves,  they 
denied  it  to  be  in  God.  By  cherishing  dissatisfaction  with  his 
dealings  with  them,  they  denied  his  perfect  goodness.     Their 


sect,  ii.]  The  Apostasy  of  Adam.  391 

disbelief  of  the  threatening  was  a  denial  that  he  was  holy,  just 
and  true.  In  aspiring  after  divinity,  they  were  guilty  of  re- 
garding him  as  one  like  themselves,  with  whom  they  might  com- 
pete. And  in  seeking  for  happiness  and  aiming  at  elevation 
independent  of  him,  they  denied  him  to  be  the  "all  and  in  all;" 
they  assumed  that  he  was  not  the  spring  of  their  being,  nor  the 
alone  fountain  of  existence  and  blessedness.  Thus,  either  did 
they  appeal  to  some  other  than  the  God  that  made  them,  as  the 
Supreme,  "by  whom,  and  for  whom,  and  through  whom,  and  to 
whom,  are  all  things;"  or,  they  asserted  a  self-poised  and  un- 
created existence  to  themselves ;  and  claimed  to  be,  already,  what 
they  at  the  same  time  strove  to  attain  unto, — gods. 

The  acts  of  intelligent  creatures  must  spring  from  motives, — 
and  those,  such  as  are  adequate  to  the  character  of  the  action. 
The  emotions  here  indicated  are  clearly  traceable  in  the  history 
of  the  apostasy  of  Adam  and  Eve.  Such  motives  are  alone  suf- 
ficient to  account  for  the  result,  the  coveting  of  a  tree,  whose 
untasted  fruit  constituted  God's  single  reservation  in  giving 
them  unlimited  possession  of  all  the  world; — their  violating  a 
command  of  their  Maker,  most  explicit  and  well  understood; 
and  venturing  on  a  penalty,  which  was  present  to  their  minds, 
and  assured  them  of  infinite  ruin  following  transgression,  if  God 
were  indeed  the  infinite  One.  Thus,  already  apostate,  the  treason 
was  sealed  by  their  partaking  of  the  forbidden  fruit,- — in  that 
act  communing  in  the  sacrament  of  Jehovah's  curse.  Eve  "  took 
of  the  fruit  thereof  and  did  eat,  and  gave  also  unto  her  husband 
with  her,  and  he  did  eat." 

Of  the  process  of  Adam's  overthrow,  we  have  his  own  brief 
statement  to  his  Judge: — "The  woman  whom  thou  gavest  to  be 
with  me,  she  gave  me  of  the  tree,  and  I  did  eat." — Gen.  iii.  12. 
The  apostle  Paul  states,  that  "Adam,  was  not  deceived,  bat  the 
woman  being  deceived  was  in  the  transgression." — 1  Tim.  ii.  14. 
From  these  accounts,  it  would  seem  that  Adam  was  not  for  a 
moment  deceived  by  the  fraud  which  had  been  committed  on  his 
wife.  But  rather,  overcome  by  inordinate  love  to  her,  he  deter- 
mined to  share  her  fate.  Thus  he  became  the  legitimate  father 
of  a  race,  who  in  all  their  generations  are  prone  to  "worship 


392  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xii. 

and  serve  the  creature  more  than  the  Creator,  who  is  over  all, 
God  blessed  forever." 

There  are  several  elements  which  are  to  be  distinctly  marked 
in  estimating  the  evil  of  the  first  sin  of  Adam. 
2  3.  Evil  <>f  1.  It  involved   the   most  shameful   ingratitude. 

the  apostasy.  What  blessing  which  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness 
could  devise  was  not  bestowed  on  them  ?  In  the  beauties  of  sur- 
rounding nature, — in  the  homage  of  the  inferior  tribes, — in  the 
abundance,  the  variety  and  excellence  of  the  fruits  of  the  gar- 
den,— in  the  symmetry  and  vigour  of  their  bodies,  and  the  per- 
fection of  all  their  senses,  constituting  avenues  of  perpetual 
pleasures, — in  the  nobility  of  immortal  minds  stamped  with 
their  Maker's  image, — and,  above  all,  in  communion  vouchsafed 
them  with  that  Creator, — in  every  circumstance  of  their  condi- 
tion, and  every  element  of  their  nature,  they  found  arguments 
of  the  perfect  love  of  Him  who  had  endowed  them  with  being, 
and  filled  them  with  happiness ; — and  who,  in  addition  to  all,  had 
promised  them  translation  to  a  still  higher  station,  and  more 
happy  state, — to  life  in  his  own  immediate  presence  in  heaven. 
For  all  this  goodness  and  grace,  the  Father  of  their  spirits 
claims  the  poor  return  of  acknowledgment  that  these  are  his 
gifts, — acknowledgment  rendered,  by  respecting  the  reservation, 
from  all  the  bounteous  abundance  of  a  teeming  earth,  of  the 
fruit  of  a  single  tree.  Thus  Adam,  by  plucking  the  forbidden 
fruit  was  guilty  of  a  most  base  and  ungrateful  denial  of  the 
obligations  he  was  under  to  infinite  goodness,  and  of  robbing 
his  Maker,  not  only  of  the  meed  of  thankfulness  for  what  was 
enjoyed,  but,  of  the  possession  of  what  was  reserved. 

2.  It  was  a  wicked  distrust  in  God.  Not  simply  that  it  im- 
plied unbelief  in  the  threatening  of  death,  and  the  promise  of 
life.  This  it  did  involve ;  but  much  more  than  this.  It  implied 
an  utter  apostasy  from  that  filial  and  perfect  confidence  and  trust, 
which  a  creature  so  circumstanced  owed,  not  only  by  the  motives 
of  duty,  but  by  the  arguments  of  reason  and  the  claims  of  gra- 
titude. It  implied  suspicion  of  the  motives  which  induced  the 
prohibition  of  the  forbidden  tree ; — suspicion  including  disbelief 
in  the  unapproachable  infinitude  of  God,  and  in  his  perfect  good- 


sect,  ii.]  The  Apostasy  of  Adam.  393 

ness  to  man;  since  it  supposed  him  to  reserve  that  tree,  lest 
man  by  eating  should  attain  to  equality  with  him.  It  intimated 
a  despair  of  finding  in  God  that  which  could  fully  satisfy  the 
wants  of  the  soul.  It  was  disbelief  of  the  threatening,  and  dis- 
credit of  the  promise  of  eternal  life ;  and  at  the  same  time  a  dis- 
paragement of  its  excellence,  and  contempt  of  its  offer. 

3.  The  sin  of  Adam  was  an  act  of  atrocious  rebellion.  As 
maker,  God  had  an  unquestionable  right  to  impose  on  his  crea- 
tures what  laws  he  saw  fit.  And,  having  imposed  a  law  of  un- 
exceptionable excellence,  the  command  in  regard  to  the  tree 
involved  in  itself  the  whole  law,  all  whose  precepts  concentrate 
themselves  in  the  one  essential  duty  of  supreme  love  and  obe- 
dience to  God.  The  precept  respecting  the  tree,  constituted  the 
only  form  in  which  the  sovereignty  of  his  Maker  interposed,  to 
limit  the  actions,  or  define  the  possessions,  which  he  had  lent  to 
man.  The  act  of  transgression  was  therefore  a  conscious  re- 
bellion  of  the  parents  of  our  race,  against  Him  from  whose  crea- 
tive hand  they  had  just  sprung  into  being.  And,  as  there  is  no 
middle  ground  in  this  matter,  this  act  was  an  assault  upon  the 
very  throne  and  divinity  of  God;  whom,  first  denying  to  be  God, 
it  next  attempted  to  rob  of  the  prerogatives,  the  homage  and 
the  sceptre  of  divinity. 

4.  This  implies  another  element  which  is  clearly  traceable  in 
the  history, — a  proud  and  impious  ambition.  Not  content  with 
the  inferior  though  blessed  and  privileged  estate  in  which  they 
were  created,  they  claim  a  higher  station.  Not  content  with 
that  image  of  God  in  which  they  shone,  they  aspire  to  Godhead 
itself.  Not  only  is  the  authority  of  Jehovah  set  aside,  but,  as 
though  that  were  not  enough,  the  authority  of  man's  own  will 
is  held  paramount  to  that  of  his  Maker.  He  "seats  himself  in 
the  temple  of  God,  and  shows  himself  that  he  is  God." 

Could  we  suppose  that,  when  the  heavenly  hosts  were  assem- 
bled on  the  morning  of  their  creation,  and  from  amid  an  effulgent 
glory  which  proclaimed  the  presence  of  the  Creator,  the  law, 
holy  and  good,  was  announced  by  his  omnipotent  voice, — as  the 
radiant  throng  burst  forth  in  adoring  anthems  of  praise,  one  had 
been  seen,  among  that  bright  and  blessed  throng,  to  cast  away 


394  The  Elolvlm  Revealed.  [chap.  xii. 

the  harp  of  praise,  to  turn  his  back  upon  the  throne  of  light, 
and  attempt  to  usurp  a  position  of  dignity  assigned  to  some  loftier 
seraph,  to  wrest  the  harp  from  some  more  skilful  hand,  and  attune 
it  to  other  notes  than  those  of  Jehovah's  praise ! — what  horror 
would  such  conduct  have  inspired  in  the  harmonious  multitude ! 
How  atrocious  would  his  attitude  appear !  Would  he  not  have 
stood  justly  chargeable  with  rebellion  the  most  arrogant,  with 
ingratitude  the  most  odious,  and  impiety  most  atrocious?  A 
creature,  each  moment  of  whose  existence,  and  each  element  of 
whose  enjoyments,  flows  from  the  beneficence  of  his  Maker, — to 
rebel  against  his  authority,  although  exercised  with  perfect  holi- 
ness, and  infinite  kindness  to  him !  A  creature,  himself  endowed 
with  perfect  happiness,  and  enriched  with  gifts  bestowed  from 
the  treasures  of  God, — to  despise  those  gifts  and  that  happiness ; 
and  repine  because  his  Creator  still  claimed  his  homage,  and  as- 
serted and  exercised  his  own  most  righteous  sovereignty!  A 
creature,  whose  existence  is  merely  because  it  pleased  God  to 
give  it,  and  whose  annihilation  would  not  cause  one  chord  of  the 
universal  harmony  to  vibrate  in  less  perfect  unison  to  creation's 
mighty  anthem  of  adoring  praise, — impiously  refusing  to  concur 
with  the  rest  to  the  great  and  becoming  end  of  all,  the  glory  of 
the  Maker,  in  the  harmony,  happiness  and  praise  of  his  creatures ; 
and,  as  far  as  in  his  power,  madly  striving  to  thrust  aside  the 
blessed  and  only  Potentate,  and  to  set  his  own  will  and  pleasure, 
his  own  ease  and  honour,  instead  of  the  will  and  glory  of  Him 
by  whom  and  for  whom  are  all  things,  and  whose  infinite  power 
and  goodness  are  the  sole  pledges  of  the  rebel's  existence! 
Would  not  all  holy  intelligences  demand  immediate  and  over- 
whelming punishment  to  the  author  of  such  wickedness? 

Suppose  the  Creator  to  permit  this  example,  unpunished,  to 
spread  contagion.  In  the  midst  of  such  warring  elements, 
where  would  be  the  Creator's  glory  ?  where  the  design  of  crea- 
tion ?  Amid  surrounding  insubordination  and  conflict,  where 
would  be  the  happiness  of  those  even  who  should  remain  loyal 
to  their  Sovereign,  and  faithful  to  the  end  of  their  being? 
Would  not  the  return  of  "  chaos  and  old  night"  be  far  better 
than  such  a  scene  ?     Were  some  wandering  star  to  rush  across 


sect,  in.]  The  Apostasy  of  Adam.  395 

the  track  of  our  solar  system,  dashing  the  elements  in  ruin 
together,  it  would  be  a  little  matter,  compared  with  a  moral  con- 
vulsion such  as  this. 

The  case  supposed  arouses  in  us  emotions  of  indignation  and 
horror.  But,  alas  !  it  is  no  fancy  sketch.  In  its  most  atrocious 
aspect,  it  is  fully  realized  in  the  instance  before  us.  What 
matters  it  that  it  was  man  tabernacling  in  clay,  and  not  a  seraph 
of  altogether  spiritual  mould  ?  What  matters  it  that  our  trans- 
gressing parents  did  not  at  that  moment  see  God  with  their 
natural  eyes,  nor  behold  the  ineffable  light  in  which  he  robes 
himself  in  the  dwelling-place  of  his  glory  ?  Had  they  not  as 
convincing  evidence  of  his  presence,  power,  holiness  and  good- 
ness as  the  angels  possess  ?  Had  they  not  as  intelligible  a 
revelation  of  his  will  as  they  can  have  ?  Yet  did  they  stop 
their  ears  to  his  voice,  close  their  eyes  to  the  manifestation 
of  his  glory,  contemn  the  rich  gifts  of  his  goodness,  and 
refuse  to  render  him  that  service  and  honour  which  were 
his  due,  and  strive  to  exalt  themselves  to  independence  of  his 
authority  and  to  equality  with  his  divinity  and  his  throne. 

Such,  then,  was  the  nature  of  the  act  by  which  man  was 
separated  from  the  favour  of  his  God  and  exposed  to  his  fearful 
displeasure; — an  act,  insignificant  in  itself,  but  clothed  with 
tremendous  meaning,  as  it  proclaimed,  in  unmistakable  language, 
to  the  startled  universe,  rebellion  consummated  against  God,  and 
defiance  hurled  against  the  throne  of  omnipotent  Holiness. 
z  4.  Depra-  But  the  sin  of   our  first  parents  was  not  only 

vation  of  the  an  act  of  atrocious  wickedness ;  it  was  an  apos- 
race.  ^asy  or   depravation  of    their   nature, — a   turning 

away  of  all  their  powers,  and  their  whole  being,  from  the  love 
and  service  of  the  Holy  One,  to  the  embrace  of  corruption  and 
the  servitude  of  sin.  Such  is  the  order  of  the  moral  system, 
which  God  has  seen  good  to  establish  among  the  intelligent 
creatures,  that  they  cannot  occupy  a  neutral  position  as  toward 
him.  Either  will  their  affections,  and  the  whole  fulness  of  their 
being,  tend  in  ardour  of  desire  toward  God,  and  in  entireness 
of  devotion  to  him  as  their  centre  and  end ;  or  those  affections 
and  that  being  will  recoil  from  him,  and  realize  aversion  and 


396  The  EloMm  Revealed.  [chap.  xii. 

hostility.  Between  these  two  conditions,  the  Creator  has  left 
no  alternative.  Hence,  the  very  act  of  apostasy — and  that  is 
the  very  essence  of  sin — is  such  a  turning  away  from  God  as 
constitutes,  in  and  of  itself,  the  assumption  of  a  hostile  attitude, 
the  embrace  of  aversion  to  him,  and  the  submitting  of  all  the 
powers  to  this  hostile  tendency.  And,  since  all  the  powers  are 
comprehended  by  this  alien  influence,  it  is  evident  that  there  is, 
in  the  apostate,  nothing  upon  which  can  be  predicated  the  possi- 
bility of  his  unaided  return;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  aversion 
will  continually  bear  the  being  farther  away  from  God,  and 
widen,  forever,  the  gulf  between.  To  this  purpose  is  the  testi- 
mony of  Paul :' — "  Know  ye  not,  that  to  whom  ye  yield  your- 
selves servants  to  obey,  his  servants  ye  are  to  whom  ye  obey, 
whether  of  sin  unto  death,  or  of  obedience  unto  righteousness  ?" 
— Eom.  vi.  16.  Thus  the  sinner  sells  himself  a  slave  to  his  own 
sins,  and  comes  into  bondage  to  his  own  apostasy. 

Such  was  the  case  with  Adam.  Not  only  did  he  transgress 
the  command  of  his  Maker, — not  only  did  he  violate  the  rule 
of  righteousness, — but,  in  so  doing,  he  turned  away  from  God, 
in  a  revolt  which  embraced  his  entire  nature,  pervaded  his 
whole  being,  and  possessed  every  power.  In  entering  upon  trial, 
he  enjoyed  a  perfect  moral  freedom.  He  had  power  and  liberty 
to  choose  holiness  or  sin,  to  embrace  evil  or  good.  By  his 
apostasy,  he  submitted  himself  to  an  absolute  tyranny  of  cor- 
ruption, a  most  degrading  servitude  to  sin.  So  that  now,  no 
longer  able  to  choose  the  good  or  work  righteousness,  he  was 
free  only  to  evil,  and  led  captive  in  chains  of  enmity  to  God,  to 
work  wickedness  with  greediness. 

Not  only  so,  but  the  apostasy,  in  which  he  thus  plunged, 
attached  to  him,  not  merely  as  he  was  a  distinct  and  individual 
person,  but  as  he  was  the  head  and  fountain  of  the  race.  Com- 
prehending and  involving  his  whole  being  and  nature,  it  at- 
tached, at  once,  to  all  who  were  in  that  nature,  his  seed ;  binding 
them  with  him  in  the  crime  of  the  apostasy  thus  wrought,  in 
the  depravity  thus  embraced  and  the  penalty  thus  incurred. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   PERMISSION   OF   MORAL   EVIL. 

Here  a  difficulty  is  urged,  respecting  the  power,  goodness  and 
holiness  of  God.    How  can  it  be  reconciled  with  these,  that  moral 
§  i.  Phases     evil  has  a  place  under  his  government? 
of  Optimism.  Plato  represents  Socrates  as  quoting  from  Anaxa- 

goras  the  doctrine,  that  Nous,  or  Wisdom,  was  the  originating 
cause  of  all  things.  Upon  this,  Socrates  reasons  that,  if  it  be 
so,  the  Wisdom  by  which  all  things  are  regulated  will  dispose 
each  in  such  a  way  as  will  be  best.  If,  therefore,  it  be  the  wish 
of  any  one  to  ascertain  the  reason  of  a  thing,  in  what  way  it  is 
originated,  or  perishes,  or  is,  he  must  discover,  in  regard  to  it,  in 
what  way  it  is  best  for  it  either  to  be,  to  endure,  or  to  do  any 
thing.* 

The  doctrine  thus  hinted  by  Plato  was,  by  Leibnitz,  incorpo- 
rated into  his  system  of  Christian  philosophy,  and  constituted 
the  fundamental  principle  in  his  great  work,  the  Tentamina 
TheodicaBoe.  In  his  controversy  with  Dr.  Samuel  Clarke,  he 
says,  "Not  mathematical  principles,  (according  to  the  usual 
sense  of  that  word,)  but  metaphysical  principles,  ought  to  be  op- 
posed to  those  of  the  materialists.  Pythagoras,  Plato  and  Aris- 
totle in  some  measure  had  the  knowledge  of  these  principles ; 
but  I  pretend  to  have  established  them  demonstratively  in  my 
Theodicea,  though  I  have  done  it  in  a  popular  manner.  The 
great  foundation  of  mathematics  is  the  principle  of  contradiction 
or  identity ;  that  is,  that  a  proposition  cannot  be  true  and  false 
at  the  same  time,  and,  therefore,  that  a  is  a,  and  cannot  be  not  a. 
This  single  principle  is  sufficient  to  demonstrate  every  part  of 


*  riatonis  Phaedon,  xlvi. 

397 


398  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiii. 

arithmetic  and  geometry;  that  is,  all  mathematical  principles. 
But,  in  order  to  proceed  from  mathematics  to  natural  philosophy, 
another  principle  is  requisite,  as  I  have  observed  in  my  Theodi- 
cea:  I  mean  the  principle  of  a  sufficient  reason;  viz.,  that  nothing 
happens  without  a  reason  why  it  should  be  so  rather  than  other- 
wise."* This  principle  of  a  sufficient  reason,  Leibnitz  thus  uses 
in  the  Theodicea : — "  The  infinite  wisdom  of  God,  joined  to  a  no 
less  infinite  goodness,  could  not  but  choose  that  which  is  best. 
For,  as  a  less  evil  has  something  of  the  nature  of  a  good,  so  a 
less  good  has  somewhat  of  the  nature  of  evil,  if  it  place  an  ob- 
stacle in  the  way  of  a  greater  good ;  and  there  might  be  some- 
thing to  be  mended  in  the  works  of  God,  if  there  were  room  for 
doing  better.  And,  as  in  mathematics,  where  there  is  neither 
maximum  nor  minimum,  nor  any  thing  distinctive,  all  are  made 
equal,  or,  if  that  does  not  take  place,  nothing  at  all  can  be  done, 
so  also  of  perfect  wisdom,  which  is  regulated  by  rule,  no  less  than 
the  processes  of  mathematics,  it  may  be  said,  that  unless  among 
all  possible  worlds  there  had  been  a  best,  God  would  have  pro- 
duced none.  .  .  .  And  although  all  time  and  space  were  filled, 
yet  will  it  always  be  possible  for  them  to  be  filled  in  an  infinite 
variety  of  ways ;  and  an  infinite  variety  of  worlds  would  be  possible, 
from  which  it  behooved  God  to  select  the  best,  since  he  may  do 
nothing  except  according  to  the  rule  of  supreme  reason. "f  In 
fact,  the  Tentamina  Theodicsese  is  throughout  designed  as  an  il- 
lustration of  this  doctrine.  Stapfer  was  a  professed  disciple  of 
the  Leibnitian  philosophy. J  In  his  Institutes  of  Theology, 
he  enters  into  an  exposition  and  defence  of  the  opinion  in  ques- 
tion. He  thus  states  the  standard  of  excellence  to  which  the 
universe  is  referred,  in  pronouncing  it  the  best: — "The  divine 
intellect  represents  all  things  distinctly  to  itself,  and  therefore 
knows  instantly  what  means  are  most  fit  to  accomplishing  his  end. 

*  Correspondence  between  Leibnitz  and  Clarke,  p.  19. 

j-  Leibnitii  Tentamina  Theodicseoe,  Pars  Prima,  \  8. 

\  "  Capite  tertio  prsecipua  religionis  Christianse  purioris  dogmata  in  nexu  suo 
exhibuimus.  De  capite  autem  hoc  tenendum,  quod  in  primis  ejus  sectionibus, 
quae  Theologiam  naturalem  spectant,  Wolfiana  secuti  simus  Principia,  Tlieo- 
dicseamque  Leibnitianam." — Stapfer's  Preface. 


sect,  i.]  The  Permission  of  Moral  Evil.  399 

But,  since  God  decreed  to  produce  this  in  preference  to  all  other 
possible  worlds,  it  is  therefore  demonstrated  to  be  best  adapted 
to  his  end,  and  therefore,  also,  the  most  perfect."  "  He  is  called 
independent  who  has  in  himself  nothing  the  reason  of  which  is  in 
any  other  thing.  But  God  is  independent :  hence  it  is  impossible 
to  conceive  any  thing  in  his  infinite  perfection,  the  reason  of 
which  is  contained  in  any  other  being  but  himself.  Hence  no 
other  being  can  contribute  any  thing  to  his  infinite  perfection ; 
and  in  relation  to  God,  nothing  whatever  can  be  called  good, 
unless  so  far  as  it  may  be  a  representation  of  his  infinite  per- 
fection. Since  in  relation  to  God  a  thing  is  good  as  it  is  a  re- 
presentation of  his  infinite  perfection,  and  since  the  infinite  per- 
fection of  God  is  to  be  understood  no  otherwise  than  as  em- 
bracing all  the  divine  attributes,  or  the  whole  fulness  of  God, 
therefore  in  relation  to  God  nothing  can  be  accounted  good,  but 
what  has  respect  to  all  his  attributes,  either  as  a  symbol  or 
shadow  of  them."* 

This  doctrine,  according  to  which,  the  present  system  of  the 
universe  is  the  best  that  is  possible,  is  known  as  the  optimistic, 
or  beltistean,  theory.  It  was  adopted  by  Edwards,  and  became  a 
conspicuous  feature  in  the  theology  of  New  England,  consti- 
tuting the  plea  by  which  the  divines  of  that  school  justify  the 
efficient  agency  which  they  attribute  to  God  in  the  existence  of 
sin.  But  the  doctrine,  in  passing  into  the  theology  of  Edwards 
and  his  followers,  experienced  a  fatal  transformation,  by  which 
its  identity  was  lost.  This  change  consisted  in  the  substitution 
of  "fitness  to  secure  the  greatest  happiness  to  the  greatest 
number,"  instead  of,  the  will  and  nature  of  God,  as  the  stand- 
ard of  excellence  to  which  reference  is  had. 

Edwards,  speaking  of  the  providence  of  God  respecting  sin, 
says,  "  There  is  no  inconsistence  in  supposing  that  God  may 
hate  a  thing  as  it  is  in  itself,  and  considered  simply  as  evil,  and 
yet  that  it  may  be  his  will  it  should  come  to  pass,  consider- 
ing all  consequences.  I  believe  there  is  no  person  of  good 
understanding  who  will  venture  to  say  he  is  certain  that  it 
is  impossible  it  should  be  best,  taking  in  the  whole  compass 

*  Stapferi  Inst.  Theol.,  torn.  I.  cap.  iii.  sec.  iv.  \\.  389,  407,  408. 


400  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiii. 

and  extent  of  existence,  and  all  consequences  in  the  endless 
series  of  events,  that  there  should  be  such  a  thing  as  moral 
evil  in  the  world.  And  if  so,  it  will  certainly  follow,  that 
an  infinitely  wise  being,  who  always  chooses  what  is  best,  must 
choose  that  there  should  be  such  a  thing.  And  if  so,  then  such 
a  choice  is  not  an  evil,  but  a  wise  and  holy,  choice.  And  if 
so,  then  that  providence  which  is  agreeable  to  such  a  choice  is  a 
wise  and  holy  providence."*  In  a  marginal  note  appended  to  this 
sentence,  he  adopts  the  language  of  an  English  Arminian  writer, 
who  says,  "It  is  difficult  to  handle  the  necessity  of  evil  in  such 
a  manner  as  not  to  stumble  such  as  are  not  above  being  alarmed 
at  propositions  which  have  an  uncommon  sound.  But  if  philo- 
sophers will  but  reflect  calmly  on  the  matter,  they  will  find  that, 
consistently  with  the  unlimited  power  of  the  Supreme  Cause,  it 
may  be  said,  that  in  the  best-ordered  system,  evils  must  have 
place."  "  If  the  Author  and  Governor  of  all  things  be  infinitely 
perfect,  then  whatever  is,  is  right ;  of  all  possible  systems  he 
hath  chosen  the  best,  and  consequently  there  is  no  absolute  evil 
in  the  universe." 

Bellamy  was  very  earnest  in  support  of  the  same  doctrine. 
He  says,  "I  believe  that  the  infinitely  wise  and  holy  God,  in 
every  part  of  his  conduct  relative  to  the  intellectual  system,  does 
that  which  is  really  wisest  and  best  for  him  to  do,  most  for  his 
own  glory  and  the  good  of  the  system  in  the  whole;  and  there- 
fore that  God's  present  plan  is  of  all  possible  plans  the  best, — 
most  for  his  glory  and  the  good  of  the  system,  "f  Says  a  more 
recent  writer,  "Let  it  be  understood  that  the  doctrine  does 
not  contemplate  sin  as,  on  the  whole,  or  in  the  operations  of  the 
divine  government,  an  evil.  It  is  no  deduction  from  the  sum  of 
the  greatest  good.  It  is  an  evil,  only  in  the  limited  views  and 
experience  of  finite  beings.  Considered  as  an  event  of  the  divine 
government,  it  comes  in  on  the  ground  of  benevolence,  and  not 
in  the  character  of  sin,  or  evil.  It  is  a  part  of  the  system  of 
benevolence;  as  much  a  part  as  any  other  event,  or  series  of 
events.     It  is,  therefore,  not  to  be  viewed  as  a  detached  and 

*  Edwards  on  the  Will,  Part  IV.  \  9. 

■j-  Vindication  of  Discourses  on  the  Permission  of  Sin,  Sect.  2. 


sect,  i.]  The  Permission  of  Moral  Evil  401 

necessary  means  of  securing  the  greatest  good,  but  as  a  con- 
stituent and  essential  part  of  that  system  which  involves  the 
greatest  good.  And  if  the  greatest  good  is  to  be  the  object  and 
rule  of  benevolence,  then  it  would  be  morally  wrong  for  God  to 
choose  or  carry  into  effect  any  other  system."* 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  held  by  the  New  Haven  school,  that 
the  reason  why  evil  is  in  the  world,  is,  that  God  could  not  prevent 
g2.iVew.fla-  it,  in  a  moral  system.  Says  Dr.  Taylor,  "God 
ven  theory.  (there  is  no  irreverence  in  saying  it)  can  make  no- 
thing else  sin  but  the  sinner's  act.  Do  you,  then,  say  that  God 
a;ave  man  a  nature  which  he  knew  would  lead  him  to  sin  ?  What 
if  he  did? — Do  you  know  that  God  could  have  done  better, — 
better  on  the  whole ;  or  better — if  he  gave  him  existence  at  all — 
even  for  the  individual  himself?  The  error  lies  in  the  gratuitous 
assumption  that  God  could  have  adopted  a  moral  system,  and 
prevented  all  sin,  or,  at  least,  the  present  degree  of  sin.  For  no 
man  knows  this;  no  man  can  prove  it.  The  assumption,  there- 
fore, is  wholly  unauthorized  as  the  basis  of  the  present  objection; 
and  the  objection  itself,  groundless.  On  the  supposition  that  the 
evil  which  exists  is,  in  respect  to  divine  prevention,  incidental 
to  the  best  possible  system,  and  that,  notwithstanding  the  evil, 
God  will  secure  the  greatest  good  possible  to  him  to  secure, — 
who  can  impeach  either  his  wisdom  or  his  goodness,  because  evil 
exists  ?  I  say,  then,  that  as  ignorance  is  incompetent  to  make  an 
objection,  and  as  no  one  knows  that  this  supposition  is  not  a 
matter  of  fact,  no  one  has  a  right  to  assert  the  contrary,  or  even 
to  think  it."f  "The  difficulties  on  this  difficult  subject,  as  it  is 
extensively  regarded,  result,  in  the  view  of  the  writer,  from  two 
very  common  but  groundless  assumptions, — assumptions  which, 
so  long  as  they  are  admitted  and  reasoned  upon,  must  leave  the 
subject  involved  in  insuperable  difficulties.  The  assumptions 
are  these :  First,  that  sin  is  the  necessary  means  of  the  greatest 
good,  and  as  such,  so  far  as  it  exists,  is  preferable  on  the  whole 
to  holiness  in  its  stead.     Secondly,  that  God  could  in  a  moral 

*  An  Examination  of  a  Review  of  Taylor's  sermon  on  Human  Depravity,  and 
Hervey's  Strictures  on  that  sermon,  Hartford,  1829,  p.  51. 
f  Dr.  N.  W.  Taylor's  Concio  ad  Clerum,  1828,  pp.  28,  29. 

26 


402  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiii. 

system  have  prevented  all  sin,  or  at  least  the  present  degree  of 
sin.  ...  If  holiness  in  a  moral  system  be  preferable  on  the 
whole  to  sin  in  its  stead,  why  did  not  a  benevolent  God,  were  it 
possible  to  him,  prevent  all  sin,  and  secure  the  prevalence  of 
universal  holiness  ?  Would  not  a  moral  universe  of  perfect  holi- 
ness, and  of  course  of  perfect  happiness,  be  happier  and  better 
than  one  comprising  sin  and  its  miseries  ?  And  must  not  infinite 
benevolence  accomplish  all  the  good  it  can  ?  Would  not  a  be- 
nevolent God,  then,  had  it  been  possible  to  him  in  the  nature  of 
things,  have  secured  the  existence  of  universal  holiness  in  his 
moral  kingdom  ?  ...  Is  there,  then,  the  least  particle  of  evidence 
that  the  entire  prevention  of  sin  in  moral  beings  is  possible  to 
God  in  the  nature  of  things  ?  If  not,  then  what  becomes  of  the 
very  common  assumption  of  such  possibility?"* 

We  have  already  examined  an  opinion  which  assumes  to  bind 
and  limit  the  authority  of  God,  by  sovereign  obligations  of  be- 
nevolence,— "the  principles  of  honour  and  right."  The  two 
conflicting  schemes  above  exhibited  are  phases  of  the  same  doc- 
trine,— attempts  to  vindicate  the  character  of  God,  from  im- 
peachments which  spring  immediately  from  the  assumption  that 
he  is  controlled  by  certain  necessary,  extrinsic  and  supreme 
obligations,  which  must  be  fulfilled,  in  order  to  the  vindication 
of  his  goodness  and  holiness. 

This  doctrine,  particularly  in  its  more  recent  forms,  labours 
under  a  confusion  of  views,  in  regard  to  the  divine  attributes, 
§  3.  Fallacy  which  vitiates  every  conclusion  that  is  based  upon 
of  optimism.  it.  When  we  contemplate  the  attribute  of  justice, 
we  recognise  in  it  such  relations  to  the  actions  of  intelligent 
creatures  as  involve  certain  obligations,  which  are  supreme  and 
unchangeable.  Thus,  justice  demands  that  the  transgressor 
shall  not  be  acquitted,  nor  the  innocent  punished.  But  the  case 
is  very  different  in  regard  to  benevolence.  Whilst  it  is  the  cha- 
racteristic of  justice  to  act  in  entire  conformity  to  the  require- 
ments of  law, — in  other  words,  to  the  declared  will  of  the  just 
One  himself, — on  the  other  hand,  it  is  of  the  very  essence  of 


*  Concio  ad  Clerum,  pp.  29-33,  margin. 


sect,  il]  The  Permission  of  Moral  Evil.  403 

benevolence  to  be  free.  To  say  that  God  is  bound  to  act  so  and 
so,  is  to  take  the  case  specified  out  of  the  province  of  benevo- 
lence, and  refer  it  to  the  tribunal  of  justice.  Hence,  to  suppose 
God  obliged  to  act  benevolently,  in  any  given  case,  is  to  deny 
the  possibility  of  benevolence  in  him;  since  that  attribute,  to  be 
real,  must  be  uncontrolled  by  any  thing  else  than  the  mere  dis- 
cretion of  the  benefactor,  in  the  bestowal  of  that,  which,  as 
rightfully  he  may  retain,  as,  graciously  bestow.  And  yet  it  is 
only  by  neglect  of  a  distinction  so  clear  and  unquestionable  as 
this,  that  any  one  is  liable  to  be  led  astray  with  the  doctrine  of 
optimism.  Should  it  be  said,  that  God  is  bound  in  justice  to 
secure  the  highest  possible  amount  of  happiness  for  his  creatures, 
it  would  at  once  be  evident,  that  there  can,  in  the  nature  of  the 
case,  be  no  law  by  which  justice  is  thus  bound.  On  the  other 
hand,  benevolence  resists  the  attempt  to  impose  any  bonds  upon 
its  exercises. 

Another  objection  to  this  scheme  is,  that  it  is  founded  on 
entirely  inadequate  and  unworthy  views  of  God  himself.  "  The 
infinitely  wise  and  holy  God,  in  every  part  of  his  conduct  rela- 
tive to  the  intellectual  system,  does  that  which  is  really  wisest 
and  best  for  him  to  do."  Such  is  the  statement  of  Bellamy. 
But  here  the  question  at  once  occurs,  In  what  sense  is  the 
present  system  the  wisest  and  best  of  all  possible  systems  ?  Is 
it  more  profitable  to  God  ?  "  Can  a  man  be  profitable  unto 
God,  as  he  that  is  wise  is  profitable  unto  himself?" — Job  xxii.  2. 
Nay,  can  the  universe  be  profitable  to  him  ?  Did  the  creation 
spring  from  some  felt  necessity  of  the  Creator  ?  And  is  this 
system  the  best,  as  it  most  fully  satisfies  that  want  ?  Or,  on 
the  other  hand,  is  it  said  that  the  rule  of  comparison  is  the 
welfare  of  the  creatures, — "  the  greatest  good  of  the  system  in 
the  whole," — "  the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number," — 
"the  happiness  of  being  in  general," — as  it  is  variously  ex- 
pressed? The  question  at  once  occurs,  Whence  the  origin  of 
this  system,  the  existence  of  the  "  being  in  general,"  which  the 
theory  contemplates  ?  The  only  scriptural  answer  is,  "  He  hath 
made  all  things  for  himself," — for  his  pleasure, — of  his  own  will. 
Now,  either  the  system  thus  had  in  view  is  nothing,  or  it  is  a 


404  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiii. 

definite  and  specific  tiling.  If  it  be  not  the  latter,  it  is  mani- 
festly absurd  to  predicate  any  thing  of  it ;  and  if  it  be,  it  can 
be  nothing  else  than  the  whole  sum  of  things  just  as  they  now 
are  in  existence,  as  Leibnitz  constantly  and  rightly  insists.  But 
here  it  is  to  be  considered,  how  it  can  be  supposed  that,  prior  to 
the  creation  of  all  things, — the  production  of  "  the  system," — God 
can  be  obliged,  as  toward  it,  to  make  one  thing  or  another ;  or 
how,  after  it  is  created,  it  can  be  conceived  to  claim,  or  he,  to 
be  obliged,  either  to  retain  it  as  it  is,  or  to  modify  it,  or  make  it 
other  than  it  is ;  that  is,  to  destroy  it,  and  place  something  else 
in  its  stead.  In  short,  it  is  a  mere  absurdity,  a  mere  jingle  of 
unmeaning  words,  to  talk  of  God  being  obliged  to  the  system, 
or  to  being  in  general,  in  any  way  whatever. 

If,  then,  God  is  under  any  obligation  to  his  creatures  at  all, 
it  must  be  to  them  individually,  and  not  to  that  abstraction 
which  is  called  "  the  system."  But  it  will  hardly  be  attempted 
to  prove  that  he  is  thus  bound  to  individuals.  When  did  he 
come  under  the  obligation,  and  to  whom  ?  Is  it  due  to  the  devils 
that  they  be  made  happy  ?  Or,  if  it  be  not,  by  what  rule  of  dis- 
crimination may  any  other  creature  make  the  claim?  The 
holy  are  indeed  entitled  to  happiness.  But  this  is  not  upon  any 
ground  of  claim  springing  from  "  the  nature  of  things,"  or  the 
rights  of  being,  but  solely  by  virtue  of  that  covenant  which  the 
Creator  has  seen  fit  gratuitously  to  make, — not  with  man  only, 
but  with  angels,  too, — that  he  that  is  holy  shall  have  eternal 
life. 

The  error  of  the  theory,  as  originated  by  Leibnitz,  consisted 
in  the  gratuitous  assumption  that,  "  unless  among  all  possible 
worlds  there  had  been  a  best,  God  would  have  produced  none ;" 
an  assumption  which  he  does  not  attempt  to  establish  by  any  better 
argument  than  the  fanciful  appeal,  by  way  of  analogy,  to  mathe- 
matics, in  which,  if  "  there  is  neither  maximum  nor  minimum, 
nor  any  thing  distinctive,  all  are  made  equal ;  or,  if  that  does 
not  take  place,  nothing  at  all  can  be  done."  The  notion  seems 
to  be  akin  to  his  favourite  doctrine  of  monads,  according  to 
which,  there  are  no  two  things  alike  in  the  universe, — not  even 
among  the  ultimate  atoms  of  matter.     But  who  shall  say  that 


sect,  in.]         The  Permission  of  Moral  Evil.  405 

the  infinite  wisdom  of  God,  in  making  this  world,  exhausted 
itself?  Who  does  not  see,  that  to  assert  that  he  could  not  make 
another  universe  equally  good,  is  to  deny,  whilst  pretending  to 
honour,  his  infinite  wisdom  ?  For  a  wisdom,  the  resources  of 
which  have  been  so  expended  that  it  cannot  again  equal  its  past 
achievements,  is  a  finite  capacity,  and  not  the  boundless  depth 
of  the  infinite  God. 

In  short,  the  whole  scheme  of  providence,  including  the  crea- 
tion and  entire  history  of  all  things,  must  be  referred  to  the 
sovereign  will  of  God  as  the  only  and  all-sufficient  reason  of  its 
adoption, — to  whom,  in  all  its  parts  and  complexity,  it  was  a 
simple  unit ;  of  which  one  part  may  not  be  set  in  opposition  to 
another,  or  in  independence  of  it,  demanding  that  it  should  be 
as  it  is,  or  otherwise.  The  perfection  which  attaches  to  it  can- 
not be  relative,  since  there  is  no  standard  of  reference  except 
the  will  that  gave  it  existence.  That  will,  with  equal  freedom 
and  equal  wisdom,  might  have  adopted  another ;  which,  however 
different,  had  been  equally  excellent ;  and  for  the  same  reason  ; 
to  wit,  that  the  will  of  God  gave  it  being.  All  we  can  say,  in 
any  case,  is,  that  the  work  of  God  is  perfect.  The  only  reason 
we  can  give, — the  only  reason  we  need  or  ought  to  seek, — the 
infinitely  sufficient  reason,  why  things  are  as  they  are,  is  that 
given  by  our  Saviour  in  view  of  the  perdition  of  the  wise  and 
mighty  of  the  world  : — "  Even  so,  Father  !  for  so  it  seemed  good 
in  thy  sight."  It  is  therefore  manifest,  that,  however  the  opti- 
mistic scheme  may  seem  to  honour  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of 
God,  it  does  neither ;  since  it  subordinates  his  divine  beneficence 
and  sovereign  will  to  a  constraint,  and  his  excellence  to  an  exte- 
rior standard  of  reference.  Thus,  in  fact,  it  derogates  from  his 
divinity,  and  so  overshadows  all  the  attributes. 

Vicious  as  are  the  premises  thus  exposed,  still  more  so  is  the 
New  Haven  doctrine,  predicated  upon  them.  Briefly,  it  is,  that 
i  4  Cannot  ^°^  co\ilcL  not  have  adopted  a  moral  system,  and 
God  prevent  prevented  all  sin,  or  at  least  the  present  degree  of 
ein?  sin.     Fully  to  expose  the  false  and  deadly  cha- 

racter of  this  heresy,  it  would  be  necessary  to  trace  its  relations 
to  the  doctrines  of  human  depravity,  the  atonement,  regenera- 


406  The  Elolihn  Revealed.  [chap.  xiii. 

tion,  sanctification,  and  the  final  inheritance  of  the  saints;  all 
of  which  it  defiles  and  falsifies.  A  few  words,  however,  will  be 
enough  to  expose  the  unscriptural  character  of  the  doctrine, 
which  is  no  less  impious  than  it  is  erroneous.  The  positions  in 
which  it  is  entrenched,  are  thus  stated,  in  the  interrogative  form, 
by  its  author,  Dr.  Taylor: — "Is  there  the  least  particle  of 
evidence  that  the  entire  prevention  of  sin  in  moral  beings  is 
possible  to  God  in  the  nature  of  things  ?  If  not,  then  what  be- 
comes of  the  very  common  assumption  of  such  possibility?  All 
evidence  of  the  truth  of  this  assumption  must  be  derived  either 
from  the  nature  of  the  subject,  or  from  known  facts.  Is  there  such 
evidence  from  the  nature  of  the  subject?  It  is  here  to  be  re- 
marked that  the  prevention  of  sin  by  any  influence  that  destroys 
the  power  to  sin,  destroys  moral  agency.  Moral  agents,  then, 
must  possess  the  power  to  sin.  Who,  then,  can  prove  a  priori,  or 
from  the  nature  of  the  subject,  that  a  being  who  can  sin  will 
not  sin  ?  How  can  it  be  proved  a  priori,  or  from  the  nature  of 
the  subject,  that  a  thing  will  not  be ;  when,  for  aught  that  appears, 
it  may  be?  On  this  point  is  it  presumptuous  to  bid  defiance  to 
the  powers  of  human  reason  ?  Is  there  any  evidence  from  facts  ? 
Facts,  so  far  as  they  are  known  to  us,  furnish  no  support  to  the 
assumption,  that  God  could  in  a  moral  system  prevent  all  sin,  or 
even  the  present  degree  of  sin.  For  we  know  of  no  creature  of 
God,  whose  holiness  is  secured  without  that  influence  which  re- 
sults, either  directly  or  indirectly,  from  the  existence  of  sin  and 
its  punishment.  ...  It  may  be  true  that  God  will  secure  under 
the  present  system  of  things  the  greatest  degree  of  holiness,  and 
the  least  degree  of  sin,  which  it  is  possible  to  him  in  the  nature 
of  things  to  secure.  Neither  the  nature  of  the  subject,  nor  known 
facts,  furnish  a  particle  of  evidence  to  the  contrary.  The  assump- 
tion therefore  that  God  could  in  a  moral  system  have  prevented 
all  sin,  or  the  present  degree  of  sin,  is  wholly  gratuitous  and 
unauthorized,  and  ought  never  to  be  made  the  basis  of  an  ob- 
jection or  an  argument."*     The  italics  are  Dr.  Taylor's. 

The  first  remark  which  presents  itself  is,  that  this  doctrine 
involves,  not  merely  the  possible,  but  the  inevitable,  perdition 

*  Concio  ad  Clerum,  p.  33,  margin. 


sect,  iv.]  The  Permission  of  Moral  Evil.  407 

of  every  creature  in  the  universe.  It  is  assumed,  that  the  entire 
prevention  of  sin  in  moral  beings  is,  in  the  nature  of  things,  im- 
possible to  God.  In  each  particular  case,  there  is  a  possibility 
of  apostasy.  However  slight,  then,  may  be  that  possibility, 
although  it  be  counted  as  one  to  myriads,  in  favour  of  steadfast- 
ness, yet,  in  the  lapse  of  eternity,  all  those  myriads  of  favourable 
probabilities  will  have  space  to  exhaust  themselves,  not  once,  but 
an  infinite  number  of  times ;  so  that  it  is  susceptible  of  mathe- 
matical demonstration,  that  each  one  of  those  of  whom  it  is  now 
predicated  as  an  immensely  remote  possibility  that  they  will 
fall,  will  ultimately  be  subject  to  a  contingency,  infinitely  more 
powerful,  in  determining  their  fall.  It  may  take  myriads  of 
untold  ages  to  work  out  the  result.  But  at  length,  if  this 
monstrous  doctrine  be  true,  despite  all  the  influences  which 
omnipotence  can  exert,  the  mansions  of  light  will  be  without 
inhabitant,  and, — with  reverence  be  the  atrocious  conclusion 
named, — at  last,  He,  who  is  the  first  born  among  many  brethren, 
will  be  no  longer  The  Undefiled !  Not  only  so,  but  if  "  moral 
agents  must  possess  the  power  to  sin,"  that  power  is  in  God; 
and  if  it  is  impossible  "to  prove  a  priori,  or  from  the  nature 
of  the  subject,  that  a  thing  will  not  be,  when,  for  aught  that 
appears,  it  may  be,"  it  is  impossible  to  prove — "I  speak  as  a 
man" — that  God  himself  will  continue  forever  to  be  unchange- 
ably  the  Holy  One ! 

Again,  this  whole  scheme  is  based  on  a  false  assumption,  as  to 
the  nature  of  the  influence  by  which  men  are  renewed  to  holi- 
ness, and  the  heavenly  hosts  kept  in  their  uprightness.  This  is 
assumed  to  be  a  merely  persuasive  power, — an  appeal  to  motives, 
essential  among  which  are  those  which  are  derived  from  the 
punishment  of  the  wicked.  And  this  false  position  is  again 
based  upon  another,  equally  without  foundation;  to  wit,  that 
absolute  independence  is  an  essential  attribute  of  moral  agency ; 
— that  God  cannot  effectually  control  the  determinations  of 
moral  agents,  without,  at  the  same  time,  destroying  their  moral 
agency.  But,  is  this  true?  Does  he  not  "work  in  us  both  to 
will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure"  ? — Phil.  ii.  13.  "  The  king's 
heart  is  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  as  the  rivers  of  water;  he 


408  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chai\  xiii. 

turnetli  it  whithersoever  lie  will." — Prov.  xxi.  1.  "A  man's 
heart  deviseth  his  way;  but  the  Lord  directeth  his  steps." — 
Prov.  xvi.  9.  Was  it  not  by  "  the  determinate  counsel  and  fore- 
knowledge of  God"  that  Judas  and  the  Jews  betrayed  and  "by 
wicked  hands"  crucified  and  slew  the  Prince  of  life?  (Acts  ii. 
23.)  What,  upon  this  system,  mean  such  promises  as  those  con- 
tained in  Jeremiah  xxxi.  33? — "After  those  days,  saith  the  Lord, 
I  will  put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts,  and  write  it  in  their 
hearts;  and  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people." 
And  again, — Ezekiel  xi.  19, — "I  will  give  them  one  heart,  and  I 
will  put  a  new  spirit  within  you ;  and  I  will  take  the  stony  heart 
out  of  their  flesh,  and  will  give  them  a  heart  of  flesh ;  that  they 
may  walk  in  my  statutes,  and  keep  mine  ordinances,  and  do 
them."  How,  too,  are  we  to  understand  the  language  of  the  be- 
loved disciple? — "Whosoever  is  born  of  God  doth  not  commit 
sin;  for  his  seed  remaineth  in  him;  and  he  cannot  sin,  because 
he  is  born  of  God.  In  this  the  children  of  God  are  manifest, 
and  the  children  of  the  devil." — 1  John  iii.  9,  10.  If  the  power 
to  sin  be  essential  to  moral  agency,  and  it  is  impossible  to  prove 
that  a  being  who  can  sin  will  not  sin, — if  the  power  of  God  is 
inadequate  to  prevent  sin,  without  destroying  moral  agency, — 
how  is  it  that  the  heirs  of  the  New  Jerusalem  are  assured  that 
"there  shall  be  no  more  curse," — that  "his  servants  shall  serve 
him," — that  "they  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever"? — Rev.  xxii. 
3,  5.  Will  it  be  said,  that  by  means  of  the  punishment  of  the 
wicked,  resulting  from  sin  already  committed,  God  will  have 
acquired  a  moral  power  to  prevent  the  redeemed  from  sinning? 
The  question  recurs, — Does  this  take  away  the  power  to  sin  ?  If 
it  does,  is  this  consistent  with  the  doctrine  that  "  moral  agents 
must  possess  the  power  to  sin"?  If  it  does  not,  what  becomes 
of  Dr.  Taylor's  doctrine,  that  "it  is  impossible  to  prove  that  a 
being  who  can  sin  will  not  sin"  ? 

In  short,  the  alternative  is  clear  and  unavoidable.  Either  the 
creatures  are  in  all  respects  dependent  upon  God,  and,  in  the 
exercise  of  moral  agency,  subject  to  his  control,  as  in  every  thing 
else;  or,  on  the  contrary,  Jehovah  himself  is  the  dependent 
being;  subject  to  the  caprice  of  man,  in  fulfilling  his  purposes; 


sect,  iv.]  The  Permission  of  Moral  Evil.  409 

and  liable  to  be  utterly  defeated,  by  man's  free  will,  in  all  bis 
most  gracious  designs, — including  tbe  salvation  of  the  seed  whom 
he  has,  in  covenant,  promised  to  his  eternal  Son,  as  the  reward 
of  his  sorrows  and  shame. 

The  introduction  of  sin  was  permitted  by  God, — not  as  the 
means  of  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number;  nor  because 
he  could  not  prevent  it, — but  because  it  so  seemed  good  to  him, 
whose  right  it  is,  unquestioned,  to  reign.  Admitted,  thus,  by 
his  sovereign  will,  it  is  employed,  by  his  wisdom  and  goodness, 
as  the  means  and  occasion  of  revealing  his  own  highest  moral 
perfections.  A  moral  agent  made  in  God's  image,  is  guilty  of 
an  aberration  so  extreme  as  to  apostatize  from  and  assail  the 
very  Fountain  of  life  and  being,  itself.  Such  an  action,  atrocious 
as  it  is,  constitutes  a  display  of  liberty  and  independence  of  will, 
which,  however  really  limited  and  bounded,  in  the  creature,  by 
the  Creator's  power,  is  a  most  remarkable  and  significant  pro- 
clamation of  a  corresponding  attribute  unbounded  in  God, — of 
a  freedom  of  will,  an  irresponsible  independence  of  purpose 
thought  and  action,  which  is  absolute  and  entire;  unlimited  by 
any  thing  but  himself;  uncontrolled  by  aught  but  his  own  infi- 
nite nature.  Further,  the  permission  of  sin  gives  occasion  for 
the  display  of  all  those  divine  perfections,  of  holiness  and  wis- 
dom, of  justice  and  mercy,  of  long-suffering  and  wrath,  which 
unfold  themselves  in  harmonious  action,  in  the  history  of  the 
perdition  of  devils,  the  eternal  blessedness  of  the  elect  angels, 
and  the  ruin  and  redemption  of  man.  But  for  the  occurrence 
of  sin,  Jehovah  had  never  been  known  as  the  redeeming  God; 
and  man  had  never  conceived  an  aspiration  so  exalted,  as  that 
of  attaining  to  sonship  to  the  Most  High, — of  joint  inheritance 
with  God's  eternal  Son. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Paul's  discussion  of  original  sin. 

The  fifth,  sixth  and  seventh  chapters  of  the  epistle  to  the 
Romans,  contain  the  fullest  and  most  detailed  exhibition  of  the 
1 1.  General  doctrine  of  original  sin,  which  we  have  in  the 
view  of  the  Scriptures.  A  careful  exegesis  of  them  will  con- 
epwtl  stitute  our  principal  argument  on  the  subject.     The 

matter  of  the  entire  epistle  naturally  resolves  itself  into  a  num- 
ber of  divisions,  which,  to  our  present  purpose,  may  be  enume- 
rated as  follows: — 

1.  First,  are  the  introductory  salutations,  and  announcement 
of  the  theme  of  the  epistle, — the  gospel  of  Christ,  the  power  of 
God  unto  salvation,  to  every  one  that  believeth,  to  the  Jew  first, 
and  also  to  the  Greek. — Chap.  i.  1-17. 

2.  That  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  no  flesh  can  be  justified,  is 
proved,  by  appeal  to  the  notorious  wickedness  of  the  Gentile 
world  (ch.  i.  18-32), — the  as  unquestionable  guilt  of  the  Jew, 
when  tried  by  the  spirituality  of  the  law, — and  the  testimony 
of  the  Scriptures,  (ch.  ii.  1-29,  iii.  1-20). 

3.  Justification  by  faith,  without  the  works  of  the  law,  is  then 
proclaimed.  Its  nature  is  stated,  (ch.  iii.  21-28).  Its  universal 
application  is  asserted: — "Is  he  the  God  of  the  Jews  only?  is 
he  not  also  of  the  Gentiles?  Yes,  of  the  Gentiles  also;  seeing 
it  is  one  God  which  shall  justify  the  circumcision  by  faith,  and 
the  uncircumcision  through  faith." — iii.  29-31.  This  is  con- 
firmed in  the  fourth  chapter,  by  the  case  of  Abraham,  who  was 
justified  in  uncircumcision,  through  faith.  The  excellence  of  this 
plan  of  grace  is  briefly  set  forth  in  the  first  eleven  verses  of  the 
fifth  chapter. 

4.  The  apostle  now  proceeds  to  confirm  and  illustrate  his  doc- 

410 


sect,  i.]         PauVs  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  411 

trine,  by  a  still  wider  induction  of  principles.  He  has  already 
proved  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  all  under  sin.  He  now  ascends 
to  the  fountain,  and  shows  that  the  sins  of  both  spring  from  one 
source ;  the  crime  and  corruption  is  one ;  and  hence  one  remedy, 
the  redemption  of  Christ,  is  equally  requisite,  and  equally  ap- 
propriate and  applicable,  to  both.  Here  he  takes  occasion  to 
display  the  principle  upon  which  that  remedy  is  based,  and  its 
consequent  adaptation  to  the  evil;  and  to  it  in  all  its  forms  and 
aspects,  in  all  alike,  whether  Jew  or  Gentile.  It  was  "  by  one 
man  that  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin,  and  so  to 
all  men  death  passed  through  him  in  whom  all  sinned."  "So 
by  the  righteousness  of  one  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto 
justification  of  life."  Thus,  as  the  one  sin  and  condemnation  are 
common  to  Jew  and  Gentile,  so  the  one  righteousness  is  freely 
given  to  both.  (ch.  v.  12-21.) 

5.  In  the  sixth  and  seventh  chapters,  the  objection,  that  the 
doctrine  of  free  grace — repudiating  the  law  and  self-righteous- 
ness— gives  the  reins  to  indwelling  depravity,  and  tends  to  li- 
centiousness, is  met,  by  showing  that  the  very  purpose,  natur- 
and  effect  of  the  salvation  of  Christ  is,  to  destroy  the  principle 
of  sin,  the  native  depravity  of  the  heart.  With  this  view,  the 
triumphant  power  of  the  gospel  plan  is  contrasted  with  the  im- 
becility of  the  law,  which,  instead  of  destroying,  only  irritates 
and  discovers  sin. 

6.  The  results  of  the  work  and  grace  of  Christ  are  summed, 
in  the  eighth  chapter,  in  justification,  sanctification,  adoption, 
the  resurrection  and  immortality  of  the  body,  and  eternal  glory ; 
all  which  are  sealed  by  the  most  infallible  purpose,  promises 
and  love  of  God. 

7.  In  the  ninth,  tenth  and  eleventh  chapters,  Paul  shows, 
that,  in  thus  setting  aside  the  law,  in  which  his  brethren  trusted, 
and  throwing  open  the  doors  of  salvation  to  the  world,  whom 
they  excluded,  he  was  not  actuated  by  indifference,  or  hostility 
to  his  people;  but,  by  ardent  love;  and  that,  in  so  doing,  he  does 
not  make  the  promises  of  none  effect.  On  the  contrary,  of  that 
generation,  even,  a  remnant  were  chosen  in  Christ;  and  in  the 
fulness  of  time  "all  Israel  shall  be  saved,"  (ch.  xi.  26,)  God 


412  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

having  in  reserve  for  them  a  most  eminent  place  in  the  glory  of 
the  gospel  day. 

8.  The  remainder  of  the  epistle  is  occupied  with  exhortations, 
enforcing  zeal  and  faithfulness  in  Christian  duties;  closing  with 
salutations  to  the  Roman  disciples. 

A  careful  regard  to  this  general  scope  and  design  of  the 
apostle,  is  essential  to  a  full  appreciation  of  the  argument  of 
the  fifth,  sixth  and  seventh  chapters,  to  which  we  now  turn. 

Chapter  v.  12.  "  Wherefore  as  by  one  man    sin 
$  .    laperv.     entere(j  jn£0  nie  worlc]    an(J  death  bv  sin;  and  so 

verse  12.  '  J  ' 

death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned." 
11  As  by  one  man."  By  "as"  is  intimated  a  comparison,  of 
which  but  one  member  is  here  given.  "We  shall  find  it  resumed, 
and  the  other  member  stated,  in  the  eighteenth  verse.  That 
the  "  one  man"  is  Adam,  appears  from  the  fourteenth  verse,  and 
is  not  questioned  by  any.  "Sin  entered  the  world."  "Sin 
began, — the  first  of  the  series  of  men's  transgressions  took 
place," — say  Stuart  and  Barnes.  The  verb  da7j)3e  literally 
means,  to  gain  access,  by  assault,  or  by  stealth, — to  enter  upon 
adverse  possession.  Its  nominative,  vj  djuapzia,  sin, — and  not  the 
plural,  sins, — as  constructed  with  this  verb,  forbids  the  above 
interpretation.  Beginning  with  this  verse,  the  apostle  engages 
in  an  argument  which  is  closely  wrought  and  continuous  to  the 
close  of  the  seventh  chapter.  Its  design  is  to  unfold  the  nature 
of  the  evil  for  which  the  gospel  provides,  and  the  adaptation  of 
the  remedy  to  the  precise  nature  of  the  evil  as  thus  unfolded. 
The  origin  and  extent  of  that  evil  he  states  in  the  twelfth  verse  : — 
"  By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin  ;  and 
so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned."  It 
would  seem  to  be  unquestionable  that  the  word,  sin,  here  ex- 
presses whatever  moral  evil  entered  the  world  by  Adam,  of 
which  death  is  the  penalty.  To  say  that  there  is  a  depravity 
in  man's  nature,  which  came  in  by  Adam,  is  sin,  and  is  so 
described  in  the  Scriptures,  and  the  penalty  of  which  is  death ; 
and  yet  deny  that  it  is  comprehended  in  the  word  here  used  and 
the  statement  here  made,  is  a  mere  contradiction  in  terms.  But 
the  manner  in  which  the  apostle  proceeds  to  handle  the  subject 


sect,  i.]        Paul's  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  413 

places  the  question  beyond  controversy.  He  begins  by  the 
assertion  that  "  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world."  This 
he  confirms  by  the  fact  that,  before  and  until  the  promulgation 
of  the  law  from  Sinai,  "sin  was  in  the  world."  He  declares  the 
law  to  have  entered,  (v.  20,)  that  the  offence  might  abound. 
"  But  where  sin  abounded,  grace  did  much  more  abound."  He 
describes  sin  as  reigning  unto  death,  (v.  21 ;)  asks,  "  Shall  we 
continue  in  sin  that  grace  may  abound  ?"  (ch.  vi.  1 ;)  and  repels 
the  suggestion,  upon  the  ground  that  "  our  old  man  is  crucified 
with  Christ,  that  the  body  of  sin  might  be  destroyed,  that  hence- 
forth we  should  not  serve  sin"  (ch.  vi.  6.)  Throughout  the  sixth 
and  seventh  chapters  the  whole  discussion  of  the  apostle  con- 
templates sin, — that  which  by  one  man  entered  the  world,  the 
wages  of  which  is  death,  (vi.  23,)  as  an  indwelling  principle,  of 
which,  having  in  the  fifth  chapter  described  the  origin,  he  in  the 
subsequent  ones  exhibits  the  power  and  evil.  By  the  word,  sin, 
therefore,  the  apostle  unquestionably  signifies  that  depravity  of 
heart  which,  in  the  sequel,  he  describes  as  "  enmity  against  God," 
(viii.  7,)  and  the  consequence  of  which  is  death, — the  wrath 
and  curse  of  God  upon  the  race. 

To  the  same  conclusion  we  are  led  by  the  manner  in  which 
the  preposition  ere  is  employed  in  the  connection.  In  the  New 
Testament  there  is  a  broad  line  of  demarcation  observable 
between  the  sense  of  this  preposition  when  repeated,  and  when 
used  but  once.  In  the  former  case,  it  has  the  force  of  our  Eng- 
lish double  preposition  into  ;  whilst,  in  the  latter,  it  commonly 
corresponds  with  on,  to,  at,  by,  &c.  Of  this  an  illustration  occurs 
in  the  account  given  by  John  of  his  own  and  Peter's  visit  to  the 
sepulchre : — "  The  other  disciple  did  outrun  Peter,  {xae  ^Xde  -pcoroz 
ere  to  [ivrjiielov,)  and  came  first  to  the  sepulchre ;  .  .  .  yet  went  he 
not  in.  Then  cometh  Simon  Peter,  following  him,  {xae  ecarjXOev  eit; 
to  fivqfxecou,)  and  went  into  the  sepulchre." — John  xx.  4-6.  So, 
in  our  text,  whilst  Paul  describes  death  as  coming  to  or  on  all 
men,  (ere  ~dvTaz  avd \otonouz  defjAOev,)  on  the  other  hand,  of  sin 
he  says,  that  it  came  into  the  world,  {ei<;  tov  xoa/wv  dorj.de.) 
Evidently,  that  which  is  thus  represented  by  the  word,  sin,  is 
something  of  which  entrance  into,  and  continuance  in,  men,  is 


414  The  Ehhim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

supposable.  It  cannot,  then,  mean,  a  mere  act,  the  first  of  a 
series ;  nor,  we  may  add,  a  constructive  legal  attitude.  In  short, 
it  designates  that  depravity  which,  upon  the  sin  of  Adam,  en- 
tered into  the  nature  of  man.  God  made  man  upright.  It  is, 
therefore,  a  most  interesting  and  important  question,  how  he 
became  depraved.  The  apostle  tells  us,  "  By  one  man,  depravity 
— sin — entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin."  By  (xoa/uo^) 
the  world,  is  meant,  not  the  material  earth,  the  sphere  of  man's 
habitation;  nor  the  population  of  the  earth  viewed  merely  as 
a  multitude  of  individuals ;  but  the  race  of  mankind,  considered 
as  an  organic  whole,  embraced  in  the  person  of  Adam.  "  Sin 
entered." — Whilst  the  subject  of  which  the  apostle  speaks  is  the 
depravity  of  the  world,  it  is  not  here  considered  in  respect  to  its 
immanent  power;  but  its  cause  and  origin  are  stated, — the 
depravation  in  which  it  began, — the  apostasy,  which  embraced 
corruption,  and  plunged  the  race  into  depravity  and  sin. 

"And  death  by  sin." — Says  Taylor  of  Norwich,  "~No  man  can 
deny  or  doubt  that  the  apostle  is  here  speaking  of  that  death 
which  we  all  die  when  this  present  life  is  extinguished  and  the 
body  returns  to  the  dust  of  the  earth.  He  speaks  of  that  death, 
evidently,  which  entered  into  the  world  by  Adam's  sin ;  that 
death  which  is  common  to  all  mankind,  which  passeth  or  cometh 
upon  all  men,  good  and  bad,  the  righteous  as  well  as  the  wicked, 
ver.  12 ;  that  death  which  reigned  from  Adam  to  Moses,  even 
over  them  that  had  not  sinned  after  the  similitude  of  Adam's 
transgression,  ver.  14.  Of  that  death,  and  of  no  other,  he  speaks 
in  the  15th  verse,  '  For  if  by  the  offence  of  one  many  be  dead ;' 
and  in  the  17th  verse,  '  For  if  by  one  man's  offence  death 
reigned  by  one.'  He  is  still  discoursing  upon  the  same  subject, 
and  therefore,  evidently,  clearly  and  infallibly,  means  the  same 
death  in  all  these  places."*  It  is,  indeed,  very  sure  that  in  all 
these  places  the  word,  death,  does  mean  the  same  thing.  But 
that  it  does  not  mean,  bodily  dissolution,  merely,  is  equally  sure. 
On  this  point,  the  testimony  of  Taylor  himself  is  conclusive, 
when,  in  another  place,  he  says,  "  Bom.  vi.  23,  The  wages  of 

*  Taylor  on  Original  Sin.  Newcastle,  England,  1845,  p.  13. 


sect,  ii.]        PauVs  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  415 

sin  is  death/  is  urged  as  a  proof  that  the  death  we  now  die  is  a 
punishment  of  sin,  consequently  that  there  must  be  some  sin  in 
infants,  who  die  as  well  as  others.  But  '  death/  in  Rom.  vi.  23, 
is  of  a  nature  widely  different  from  the  death  we  now  die. 
For,  as  it  stands  there  opposed  to  eternal  life,  which  is  the  gift 
of  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  it  manifestly  signifies  eternal  death, 
the  second  death,  or  that  death  which  they  shall  hereafter  die 
who  live  after  the  flesh."*  This  is  true;  and  the  same  principle 
applies  to  the  passage  before  us.  That  the  death  which  entered 
by  Adam's  sin  is  the  same  as  that  which  is  the  wages  of  sin,  is 
evident  from  the  fact  that  it  is  the  reward  of  sin,  under  process 
of  law,  (v.  13,)  by  judgment  unto  condemnation,  (v.  16;)  and  it 
is  contrasted  with  eternal  life,  (v.  21,)  precisely  as  it  is  in 
chapter  vi.  23,  which  Taylor,  for  this  reason,  admits  to  signify 
the  second  death  : — "  That  as  sin  hath  reigned  unto  death,  even 
so  might  grace  reign  through  righteousness  unto  eternal  life, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." — v.  21.  We  have  elsewhere 
seen  that  the  word  "  death"  is  not  designed  to  describe  any  of  the 
details  of  the  manner  in  which  the  wrath  of  God  is  inflicted, 
but  is  simply  expressive  of  God's  righteous  curse  against  sin ; 
and,  since  this  curse  is  the  cause  of  all  the  adverse  providences, 
the  afflictions  and  sorrows,  and  the  dissolution  of  the  body,  which 
men  realize,  the  presence  of  any  of  these  is  evidence  of  the 
curse,  and  properly  described  under  the  name  of  death. 

This  meaning  of  the  word,  death,  is,  in  fact,  essential  to 
the  whole  design  and  argument  of  the  apostle.  As  we  have 
already  stated,  and  as  will  fully  appear  in  what  follows,  his 
object  is,  to  show  that  the  evil,  for  which  the  salvation  of  Christ 
is  requisite,  is  coextensive  with  the  race,  and,  hence,  that  one 
salvation  is  appropriate  to  all  men,  both  Jews  and  Gentiles, — the 
one  salvation  of  Christ.  The  evil  is  described  as  consisting  of 
two  elements  :  the  one  moral,  that  is,  sin ;  the  other  penal, 
called  death.  What  it  was  in  which  the  penal  evil  consisted, 
which  rendered  Christ's  salvation  necessary,  is  sufficiently 
evinced  in  that  which  he  bore.     "It  is  written,  Cursed  is  every 

*  Ibid.     Supplement,  p.  183. 


416  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

one  that  continueth  not  in  all  tilings  which  are  written  in  the 
book  of  the  law  to  do  them."  "  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from 
the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us ;  for  it  is 
written,  Cursed  is  every  one  that  hangeth  on  a  tree." — Gal. 
iii.  10-13. 

The  adverb  (outojz)  so,  in  the  next  clause,  identifies  the 
effect  there  described  with  that  already  stated : — "  The  curse 
came  upon  Adam  by  the  apostasy,  and,  in  so  doing,  came  on  all 
men."  By  the  phrase  "all  men"  is  not  only  designed,  in  general, 
the  whole  race  of  man ;  but,  particularly,  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
alike ;  the  community  of  whom,  in  the  curse  and  in  the  salva- 
tion, it  is  Paul's  object  to  show.  AtyXOtv,  rendered  "passed," 
signifies  to  pass  or  go  through,  and  always  requires  a  medium, 
either  expressed  or  understood,  through  which  the  passage  takes 
place.*  The  word  occurs  in  the  New  Testament  forty-three 
times.  In  thirty  of  these  it  is  accompanied  by  a  word  express- 
ive of  the  medium ;  and,  in  the  other  places,  it  is  necessarily 
implied.  Thus,  Luke  ii.  35 : — "  A  sword  shall  pierce  through  thy 
own  soul  also."  Matt.  xii.  43: — "The  unclean  spirit  passeth 
through  dry  places."  Luke  viii.  22: — "Let  us  go  over  [the  lake] 
to  the  other  side  of  the  lake."  Luke  v.  12: — "So  much  the 
more  there  went  through  [the  land]  a  fame  of  him."  In  one 
place  the  word  might,  at  first  glance,  be  supposed  to  express 
motion,  not  through,  but  to,  a  place  ;  but  the  true  force  of  the 
language  agrees  with  all  the  others  : — Heb.  iv.  14 : — "  We  have 
a  great  high-priest  that  is  passed  through  the  [natural]  heavens 
[to  the  throne  of  God.]" 

To  the  question,  What  medium  is  here  required? — the  text 
gives  the  answer: — "Wherefore,  as  sin,  and  through  sin  (6 
■fydvavoz)  death  (eh^XOs  dt')  passed  through  (kvbz  dudpconou)  one 
man  into  the  world  ;  and  so  [in  thus  doing]  to  all  men  (6  dduazoc; 
ncrjXdsv)  death  passed  through  [the  one  man],  in  whom  all 
sinned."  The  only  difference  between  the  two  clauses  is,  that, 
in  the  latter,  did  is  in  composition,  and  that  the  medium  which 
it  demands,  (kvoz  dvdptlmov)  "  the  one  man,"  having  been  once 

*  See  Guyse's  Expositor,  in  loco ;  and  Junkin  on  Justification,  p.  130. 


sect,  ii.]        Paul's  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  417 

named,  is  not  repeated.  The  interpretation  here  offered  is 
confirmed  by  the  parallel  of  verse  17.  The  phrase  "to  all  men, 
death  passed  through  the  one,"  has  its  equivalent,  there,  in  the 
expression,  "by  one  man's  offence  death  reigned  through  one." 

In  the  margin  of  our  English  Bible  if'  to  is  rendered  in 
whom,  a  more  correct  translation  than  the  textual  reading  "  for 
I  3.  'e{>'  a  that."  It  is  common  to  recognise  the  authority  of 
"in  whom."  the  translators  as  definitively  for  the  latter  reading. 
This,  however,  is  a  mistake;  as  they  distinctly  inform  us,  that 
the  insertion  of  marginal  readings  was  because  they  were  not 
themselves  clear,  and  for  the  purpose  of  leaving  the  choice  to 
the  discretion  of  the  judicious  reader.*  By  those  who  object 
to  rendering  i<p'  a>,  in  whom,  it  is  urged  that  i~c  may  not  be 
used  instead  of  iv,  to  signify  in.  But  in  this  very  chapter,  an 
unequivocal  example  occurs,  in  v.  14 : — "  Those  who  had  not 
sinned  (ixc  rw  bfioetofiarc)  in  the  likeness  of  Adam's  transgres- 
sion." Compare  Rom.  viii.  3  : — "  God  sending  his  own  Son  (iv 
bfiocto/jiaTc)  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh."  See  also  the  following 
places  in  which  the  very  phrase  in  question  occurs.  Nor  is  this 
construction  of  irce  without  classical  authority ;  as  has  been  abun- 
dantly shown  by  different  writers.  The  phrase  i<p'  w  occurs  five 
times  in  the  New  Testament.  Mark  ii.  4  : — "  The  bed  on  which 
the  sick  of  the  palsy  lay."  Luke  v.  25  : — "He  took  up  [the  bed] 
in  which  he  lay."  Here  the  construction  is  precisely  as  in  our 
text.  The  antecedent  being  omitted,  the  ellipsis  must  be  supplied 
by  reference  to  the  force  of  the  connection.  2  Cor.  v.  4 : — "We 
that  are  in  this  tabernacle  do  groan,  being  burdened ;  in  which 


*  "  Doth  not  a  margin  do  well  to  admonish  a  reader  to  seek  further,  and  not  to 
conclude  or  dogmatize  upon  this  or  that  peremptorily  ?  For  as  it  i9  a  fault  of  in- 
credulity to  doubt  of  those  things  that  are  evident,  so  to  determine  of  such 
things  as  the  Spirit  of  God  hath  left — even  in  the  judgment  of  the  judicious — 
questionable,  can  be  no  less  than  presumption.  Therefore,  as  St.  Augustine  saith 
that  variety  of  translations  is  profitable  for  the  finding  out  of  the  sense  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, so  diversity  of  signification  and  sense  in  the  margin,  where  the  text  is  not 
so  clear,  must  needs  do  good,  yea,  is  necessary,  as  we  are  persuaded.  .  .  .  They 
that  are  wise  had  rather  have  their  judgments  at  liberty  in  differences  of  read- 
ings, than  to  be  captivated  to  one  when  it  may  be  the  other." — Translators' 
Preface  to  the  Header. 

27 


418  The  Mohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

[groaning]  we  would  not  be  unclothed."  Phil.  iv.  10 : — "  Now 
at  the  last,  ye  bestir  yourselves  again  to  care  for  me,  in  which 
[caring]  ye  were  careful  before,  but  ye  lacked  opportunity." 
The  only  remaining  place  is  Phil.  iii.  12,  where  the  construc- 
tion is  obscure : — "  If  that  I  may  lay  hold  of  [the  prize]  unto 
[the  obtaining  of]  which  also  I  was  laid  hold  of  by  Christ 
Jesus," — is  perhaps  a  just  rendering.  Or  it  may  be  read,  "  I 
follow  after  if  that  I  may  apprehend,  because  I  also  was  appre- 
hended of  Christ  Jesus."  If  this  translation  be  adopted,  it  is 
the  only  place  in  which  the  phrase  occurs  as  a  causative  particle. 
The  construction  of  Luke  xi.  22  will  also  illustrate  the  use  of 
the  phrase  under  discussion : — "  He  taketh  from  him  all  his 
armour  (if  ft)  in  which  he  trusted."  From  all  these  cases,  it  is 
evident  that,  whilst  the  force  of  the  verb,  dcrjX&ev  passed  through, 
requires  the  translation,  in  whom,  this  rendering  is  demanded  by 
the  analogy  of  the  use  of  the  phrase  itself 'in  other  places. 

The  parallel  language  of  this  same  apostle  in  1  Cor.  xv.  22,  on 
the  same  subject,  confirms  our  interpretation,  as  it  shows  the  light 
in  which  the  subject  was  viewed  by  Paul : — "As  (iv  tw  'Jod/j.)  in 
Adam  all  die."  The  sentiment  of  Paul  in  the  place  under  consider- 
ation would  not  be  changed,  were  we  to  substitute  this  phrase 
and  read,  "As  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death 
by  sin,  and  so  in  Adam  all  die,  in  whom  all  sinned."  In  fact,  so 
conclusive  is  the  evidence  in  its  favour,  that  this  interpretation 
is  admitted  by  Whitby  and  other  Arminians. 

"In  whom  all  have  sinned." — The  original  is  free  from  the 
ambiguity  which  the  auxiliary  "  have"  gives  to  the  place,  by 
which  colour  is  afforded  to  the  pretence  that  the  apostle  speaks 
of  sins  personally  committed  by  Adam's  posterity.  The  word 
(fymprov)  sinned,  is  in  the  aorist,  expressing  action  indefinitely 
past  and  completed.  "  To  all  men  death  passed  through  the  one  in 
whom  all  sinned."  Such  is  the  assertion  of  the  apostle : — "  By  one 
man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  in  him  all  sinned."  If  the 
entrance  of  sin  was  the  embrace  of  depravity,  this  language  is 
also  to  be  understood  in  the  same  sense.  When  Adam  aposta- 
tized from  God,  all  his  race,  being  in  him  as  the  branches  are  in 
the  undeveloped  shoot,  apostatized  with  him,  and  so  became  cor- 
rupt and  accursed.  They  are  condemned  under  death  as  sinners, 


sect,  in.]       PauVs  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  419 

because  they  are  such.     They  sinned.     That  such  was  the  case, 
the  apostle  proceeds  to  show  in  the  following  verses. 

Ver.  13. — "  For  until  the  law,  sin  was  in  the  world.  But  sin  is 
not  imputed  when  there  is  no  law." — Prior  to  the  giving  of  the 
g  4.  Verses  law  on  Sinai  there  was  sin,  as  well  as  after.  It  is,  by 
13> 14-  some,  assumed  from  this  scripture,  that  there  were 

no  sins  imputed  until  the  coming  in  of  the  law  of  Moses.  But 
directly  the  opposite  of  this  is  the  apostle's  argument.  He 
declares,  in  the  next  verse,  that  "  death  reigned  from  Adam  to 
Moses."  He  assumes  the  fact,  which  in  the  close  of  the  next 
chapter  is  stated  in  terms,  that  death  is  the  wages  of  sin. 
Where,  therefore,  there  is  death,  there  must  be  sin.  And,  since 
there  was  death  all  the  time  from  Adam  "until  the  law"  given 
by  the  hand  of  Moses  on  Sinai,  it  follows,  as  already  asserted, 
that  "  sin  was  in  the  world."  But  sin  is  the  transgression  of  law; 
and  hence  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  sin  where  there  is  no  law ; 
and  therefore  no  dealing  as  for  sin.  "  Sin  is  not  imputed  when 
there  is  no  law."  Since,  then,  there  was  death,  and  therefore 
sin,  prior  to  that  revelation  in  which  the  Jews  boasted  as  "  the 
law,"  it  follows  that  there  must  have  been  a  law  in  existence 
before  that  of  Sinai,  a  law  under  which  sin  and  death  entered 
the  world,  and  gained  dominion  over  all  men,  both  Gentiles  and 
Jews  alike.  What  law  that  was,  Paul  had  already  stated : — 
"Not  the  hearers  of  the  law  are  just  before  God,  but  the 
doers  of  the  law  shall  be  justified.  For  when  the  Gentiles, 
which  have  not  the  law,  do  by  nature  the  things  contained  in 
the  law,  these,  having  not  the  law,  are  a  law  unto  themselves; 
which  show  the  work  of  the  law  written  on  their  hearts." — 
Rom.  ii.  14,  15.  Throughout  the  entire  argument  Paul  carefully 
distinguishes  two  features  which  were  essentially  united  in 
Adam's  apostasy.  The  one  is,  the  violation  of  the  positive  pre- 
cept, which  he  designates  as  "the  offence,"  "the  disobedience," 
and  "the  transgression."  The  other  is,  the  violation  of  the  law 
written  in  Adam's  heart,  and  so,  in  the  nature  of  the  race,  and 
by  the  offence  transgressed  in  both.  Its  violation  was  the  em- 
brace of  that  which  the  apostle  calls,  sin.  The  law,  therefore, 
under  which  sin  and  death  reigned  from  Adam  to  Moses, — the 


420  The  Elohim  Revealed,  [chap.  xiv. 

law  under  which  sin  entered  into  the  world  and  death  by  sin 
passed  to  all  men,  is  "the  law  written  in  their  heart."  In- 
scribed, as  we  have  elsewhere  seen,  in  the  heart  of  Adam,  and, 
in  him,  written  in  the  nature  of  man,  its  power  is  seen  in  the 
struggles  of  those  who  "do  by  nature  the  things  contained  in 
the  law,"  and  its  violation  by  Adam,  and  in  him  by  the  race,  is  the 
cause  of  the  universal  prevalence  of  sin  and  death.  Hence,  the 
law  of  Moses  cannot  have  been  otherwise  than  subsidiary  to  the 
other ;  and  satisfaction  to  the  former,  even  if  rendered,  could  not 
meet  the  claims  nor  set  aside  the  authority  of  that  law  which  is 
common  to  the  race,  the  curse  of  which  rests  upon  all  alike. 
Therefore,  the  necessity  and  the  provision  of  a  remedy,  not  for 
the  Jew  only,  but  for  the  race.  The  fact  of  the  actual  imputa- 
tion of  sin,  prior  to  Moses,  is  evident  from  such  examples  as 
that  of  Cain,  at  whose  door,  according  to  the  testimony  of  God, 
sin  lay,  (Gen.  iv.  7) ; — the  old  world,  whose  wickedness  God  saw 
that  it  was  great,  insomuch  that  for  it  they  were  destroyed, 
(Gen.  vi.  5-7 ;) — the  cities  of  the  plain,  (Gen.  xix.  13  ;) — and  the 
Amorites  of  Canaan.  (Gen.  xv.  16.) 

Ver.  14. — "Nevertheless,  death  reigned  from  Adam  to  Moses, 
even  over  them  that  had  not  sinned  after  the  similitude  of 
Adam's  transgression,  who  is  the  figure  of  him  that  was  to  come." 
— "  Nevertheless :" — Although  it  is  true  that  there  can  be  no  sin, 
and  therefore  no  curse,  when  there  is  no  law,  yet  the  curse  was 
realized;  "death  reigned."  Not  only  did  men  die,  but  that 
under  righteous  sentence;  for  death  came  not  in  by  usurpation 
and  violence;  but,  enthroned  by  the  law,  he  wielded  its  sceptre, 
and  reigned  by  right.  "Even  over  them  that  had  not  sinned 
after  the  similitude  of  Adam's  transgression."  By  Augustine, 
and  perhaps  the  great  majority  of  judicious  expositors  after  him, 
this  is  referred  to  infants;  upon  the  supposition  that  the  imme- 
diate contrast  is  between  actual  transgression,  and  innate  sin. 
Calvin  and  others,  however,  suppose  the  contrast  to  be  between 
transgressors  of  a  positive  precept,  as  was  Adam,  and  those 
who  have  no  law  but  that  written  on  the  heart.  We  prefer  the 
former  interpretation;  because,  though  the  apostle  had  empha- 
tically mentioned  the  transgression  of  Adam,  as  an  actual  sin, 


sect,  iv.]       Paul's  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  421 

and  afterwards  insists  much  on  it  as  such,  he  does  not,  in  any 
place  either  before  or  after,  lay  any  stress  upon,  or  even  mention, 
the  fact  that  it  was  transgression  of  a  positive,  as  contradistin- 
guished from  a  moral  or  innate  precept.  Infants  undoubtedly 
died,  as  well  as  others;  and  are  therefore  necessarily  included  in 
the  inference  which  he  draws  from  the  prevalence  of  death.  All 
the  natural  offspring  of  Adam  are,  by  the  whole  tenor  of  the 
argument,  and  its  repeated  and  express  declarations,  held  to  have 
become  condemned  sinners,  by  virtue  of  his  transgression.  If 
this  be  true  of  any  one,  it  is  as  appropriate  to  infants  as  to  any 
others.  If  infants  are  excepted  from  a  place  in  the  offence  and 
condemnation,  they  are  by  that  process  excluded  from  a  place  in 
the  benefits  of  the  redemption.  It  has  been  provided  as  a  remedy 
for  the  case  of  those  only  who  were  ruined  in  Adam.  Whilst, 
however,  for  these  reasons  the  Augustinian  interpretation  is  to 
be  preferred,  the  other  involves  in  it  every  conclusion,  concerning 
original  sin,  contained  in  the  former.  The  apostle  reasons  that, 
since  death  is  the  punishment  of  sin,  under  the  sanctions  of  law, 
it  follows,  that  those  who  die,  are  sinners  against  law;  even 
though  they  may  not  have  a  positive  precept  revealed  to  them; 
— they  are  sinners  against  the  law  written  on  their  hearts.  But, 
if  this  be  sound  reasoning,  the  conclusion  that  follows  must  be 
as  broad  as  the  premises  laid. — Whosoever  dies,  he  dies  under 
the  sentence  of  the  law  for  sin. — He  is  then  a  sinner, — even 
though  he  have  never  known  the  written  law ;  he  has  been  con- 
demned by  law,  even  that  in  his  own  heart. — Infants  die;  there- 
fore they  are  sinners;  although  the  written  law  has  never  come 
to  them.  "Adam, — who  is  the  figure  of  him  that  was  to  come." 
Adam  was,  then,  a  figure  or  type  of  Christ.  The  word,  (tuttoi;,) 
figure,  means  "that  which  exhibits  a  representation  of  any 
thing."  Thus,  Heb.  viii.  5 : — "  See  that  thou  make  all  things  ac- 
cording to  the  pattern  showed  thee  in  the  mount."  Elsewhere, 
in  the  same  connection,  the  word  is  translated,  "the  fashion." — 
Acts  vii.  44.  Evidently,  it  here  has  respect  to  Christ's  repre- 
sentative office ;  of  which  Adam's  relation  to  his  seed  was  a  type 
or  likeness. 

Ver.  15. — "But  not  as  the  offence,  so  also  is  the  free  gift." — By 


422  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

"the  offence,"  Paul  designates  the  eating  of  the  forbidden  fruit, 
$ 5.  Verses  — the  formal  action,  in  which  the  sin,  the  apostasy, 
15-17.  la,y  concealed.     On  the  other  hand,  by  "the  free 

gift,"  he  points  to  the  righteousness  of  Christ;  which,  as  a  gra- 
tuity of  divine  goodness,  is,  without  price,  (v.  17,)  bestowed  on 
the  unworthy.  "Not  as  the  offence,  so  also." — Adam  was 
indeed  a  type  of  Christ ;  yet  is  not  the  work  of  the  latter  to  be 
measured  by  Adam's  scale.  The  apostle  specifies  several  points 
of  difference.  1.  One  is  intimated  by  the  structure  of  the  sen- 
tence. In  order  to  a  perfect  parallel,  the  apostle  should  have 
said,  "Not  as  the  offence,  so  is  the  obedience;"  or,  "Not  as  the 
penal  liability  for  the  offence,  so  is  the  free  gift  of  the  righteous- 
ness." But,  instead  of  either  of  these  forms  of  expression,  the 
Holy  Ghost  prefers  to  say,  "Not  as  the  offence,  so  also  is  the 
free  gift."  Thus  is  intimated  a  difference  between  the  nature  of 
our  relation  to  the  offence  of  Adam  and  to  the  righteousness  of 
Christ.  The  offence  is  ours  immediately,  and  not  by  virtue  of 
any  divine  agency  investing  us  with  it.  As  the  apostle  has 
already  shown,  that,  when  Adam  sinned,  all  his  seed  were  in 
him,  and  so  sinned  in  the  same  act  with  him, — and  that,  in  the 
fact  of  his  disobedience,  sin  entered  into  all  men,  bringing  them 
under  bondage  to  death ;  so,  now,  he  assumes  the  reality  of  these 
postulates;  and,  as  a  consequence,  recognises  the  offence  as  the 
disobedience  of  all, — as  natively  belonging  to,  and  immediately 
chargeable  upon,  all.  It  is  only  because  truly  and  immediately 
ours,  that  a  God  of  infinite  goodness  and  justice  charges  it  to  us. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  grace  bestows  a  righteousness,  to  which 
we  hold  no  such  native  relation, — a  righteousness  in  which  we 
have  no  original  property;  and  to  which  we  could  never  have 
acquired  any,  had  it  not,  contrary  to  nature,  been  made  ours 
by  free  gift.  "  Not  as  the  offence,  so  also  is  the  free  gift."  Says 
Calvin,  "Adam's  sin  does  not  condemn  us,  by  a  bare  imputa- 
tion, as  though  the  punishment  of  another's  sin  were  exacted  of 
us ;  but  we  therefore  endure  its  punishment  because  we  are  also 
guilty  of  the  crime,  since  our  nature,  vitiated  in  him,  is  held 
guilty  of  iniquity  by  God.  But  Christ's  righteousness  restores 
to  salvation  by  another  method;  for  it  is  not  accepted  of  God, 


sect,  v.]         Paul's  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  423 

because  it  is  intrinsically  in  us;  but  the  bounty  of  the  Father 
makes  us  possess  Christ  himself,  who  is  bestowed  upon  us  with 
all  his  blessings."*  Calvin  indeed  states  this,  as  a  point  of  dif- 
ference not  mentioned  by  Paul.  But  although  not  formally 
set  forth,  it  is  very  clearly  intimated,  in  the  phraseology 
of  the  apostle;  and  assumed  as  self-evident,  in  his  argument. 
2.  The  second  point  of  difference  stated  by  the  apostle  is  this: — 
If  Adam  was  invested  with  an  extraordinary  authority  and  in- 
fluence, such  as  to  ruin  a  world, — much  greater,  more  amazing, 
and  infinitely  glorious,  is  that  of  the  second  Adam,  by  which 
the  world  thus  lost  is  restored.  It  is  a  comparatively  easy  thing 
to  destroy  a  noble  structure.  To  restore  it  is  a  far  more  signal 
display  of  power.  "If  through  the  offence  of  one  many  be  dead, 
much  more  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  gift  by  grace,  which  is  by 
one  man,  Christ  Jesus,  hath  abounded  unto  many."  3.  It  is  very 
easy  to  see  how  one  sin  is  sufficient  to  destroy  all  righteousness. 
But  in  Christ  the  apparent  contradictory  of  this  is  exhibited, — 
a  righteousness  which  no  amount  of  sin  can  destroy, — which 
covers  not  only  the  one  offence  in  which  sin  entered,  but 
the  many  in  which  it  abounds.  "Not  as  it  was  by  one  that 
sinned,  so  is  the  gift:  for  the  judgment  was  by  one  (offence)  to 
condemnation,  but  the  free  gift  is  of  many  offences  unto  justifi- 
cation." 4.  Adam  placed  the  sceptre  in  the  hand  of  death,  and 
cast  down  his  race  as  bond-slaves  to  that  terrible  king.  Christ 
rejoices  to  show  his  power,  not  in  the  enthronement,  but  destruc- 
tion, of  death,  and  the  crowning  of  the  victims,  who  lay  in  chains 
beneath  his  iron  sceptre.  By  the  power  of  the  second  Adam,  the 
prisoners  of  death  reign,  kings,  in  life.  "For  if  by  one  man's 
offence  death  reigned  by  one,  much  more  they  which  receive 
abundance  of  grace  and  of  the  gift  of  righteousness  shall  reign 
in  life  by  one,  Jesus  Christ." 

The  apostle  now  returns  to  the  comparison  which  he  had  inti- 
g  6.  Verses  mated  in  the  twelfth  verse  by  the  adverb  "as,"  but 
is,  19.  left  unfinished.     "  As  by  one  man  sin  entered  into 

the  world,  and  death  by  sin,  and  so   to  all  men  death  passed 

*  Cabin  on  the  Romans,  chap.  v.  17. 


424  The  EloJdm  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

through  the  one  in  whom  all  sinned," — as  "  by  the  offence  of 
one  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation,  even  so  by 
the  righteousness  of  one  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto 
justification  of  life;"  that  is,  "justification  which  is  the  pledge 
of  eternal  life."  Of  this  he  proceeds  to  give  the  reason  and 
ground. 

Ver.  19. — "  For  as  by  one  man's  disobedience  many  [to  wit, 
all  his  natural  posterity]  were  made  sinners,  so  by  the  obe- 
dience of  one  shall  many  [that  is,  all  his  seed]  be  made  right- 
eous," being  endowed  with  his  righteousness.  Having,  in  the 
preceding  verse,  stated  the  fact  of  condemnation  in  Adam,  and 
justification  in  the  second  Adam,  he  here  states  the  grounds 
of  these  proceedings.  We  are  condemned  in  Adam  because  of 
our  communion  in  his  apostasy;  justified  in  Christ  by  commu- 
nion in  his  righteousness.  The  communion  in  Adam's  sin,  of 
which  Paul  here  speaks,  does  not  consist  in  the  actings  of  depra- 
vity in  his  seed,  severally, — by  which,  as  some  pretend,  they  as- 
sume responsibility  for  his  apostasy, — but  in  that  relation  to,  and 
inbeing  in  him,  by  virtue  of  which  the  apostasy  was  not  only  his 
sin  individually,  but  theirs  also.  "By  one  man's  disobedience 
many  were  made  sinners,"  inasmuch  as  "  in  him  all  sinned." 
"  Even  so  by  the  obedience  of  one  shall  many  be  made  righteous." 
As  Adam's  sin,  so  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  is  to  be  viewed 
in  several  lights.  First,  and  chiefly,  it  is  a  controlling  principle, 
which,  dwelling  in  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  constituted  his  essential 
righteousness, — that  by  which  he  was  the  express  image  of  the 
Father's  person.  The  Holy  Spirit  was  the  efficient  cause  of  this 
principle  in  Christ ;  the  power  of  which  produced  that  perfect 
conformity  to  the  law,  in  which  his  active  righteousness  con- 
sisted. By  their  union  with  Christ  through  the  Spirit,  his 
people  are  admitted  to  share  in  his  property  in  this  his  right- 
eousness,— as,  in  him,  it  was  both  essentially  and  actively  a 
conformity  to  the  law ;  and  so  justifies  those  to  whom  it  is 
given ; — whilst,  at  the  same  time,  the  uniting  Spirit  acts  as  a 
controlling  principle  of  conformity,  which  sanctifies  those  in 
whom  he  dwells ; — an  incorruptible  seed  that  abideth  in  them,  so 
that  they  cannot  sin.     When,  therefore,  Paul  says  that  by  the 


sect,  vi.]        Paul's  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  425 

obedifnce  of  one  many  shall  be  made  righteous,  we  are  not  to 
suppose  that  he  meant  any  thing  else  than  precisely  what  he 
says.  He  is  not  to  be  understood  as  confounding  the  righteous- 
ness which  justifies  with  the  judicial  decision  by  which  it  is 
recognised  to  justification.  In  fact,  if  we  will  listen  to  the 
apostle,  it  would  seem  that  nothing  could  be  more  perspicuous 
and  perfectly  intelligible  than  his  language.  His  object  is  to 
show  how  a  sinner  can  be  justified.  In  general  terms,  he  says 
it  resembles  the  manner  of  our  condemnation  in  Adam: — "As 
by  the  offence  of  one  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condem- 
nation, even  so  by  the  righteousness  of  one  the  free  gift  came 
upon  all  men  unto  justification  of  life."  But  this  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  elucidate  the  matter.  The  sentence  of  the  law,  whether 
condemnatory  or  justifying,  must  have  some  real  ground;  since 
the  judgment  of  God  is  according  to  truth.  What,  then,  is  the 
ground  of  the  decisions  here  stated  ?  The  apostle  replies,  The 
condemnation  is  of  sinners,  for  sin.  The  justification  is  of  right- 
eous ones,  for  righteousness.  For  as  by  one  man's  disobedience 
many  were  made  sinners,  so  by  the  obedience  of  one  shall  many 
be  made  righteous.  And  although  the  righteousness  in  which 
they  are  justified  is  one  infinitely  above  their  power  to  work  for 
themselves,  it  is  as  truly  and  fully  theirs,  for  justification,  as 
though  of  their  own  working.  The  free  gift  is  not  a  pretence, 
but  a  reality.  The  righteousness  which  it  bestows  is  by  it  made 
truly  theirs ;  and  hence,  righteous  in  it,  they  cannot  but  be  jus- 
tified at  the  bar  of  holiness  and  truth. 

Thus  far,  Paul  has  considered  the  sin  of  Adam  simply  as  the 
apostasy  which  involved  him,  and,  in  him,  the  world,  in  con- 
o  7#  Yereea  demnation.  He  now  hints  that  it  is  to  be  viewed 
20, 21.  not  only  as  a  sin  common  to  all,  but  as  embracing 

a  principle  of  active  opposition  to  God,  working  in  the  hearts 
of  all.  The  Jews  looked  to  the  law  as  a  rule  of  righteousness, 
by  which  they  must  be  saved.  So  far  from  this  being  true,  says 
the  apostle,  "  the  law  entered,  that  the  offence  might  abound," 
(v.  20,) — that  the  disobedience  of  Adam  might  be  re-enacted  in 
the  many  actual  transgressions  of  his  sons.  In  the  mass  of  men, 
depravity  operates  to  induce  a  love  of  darkness, — an  embrace 


426  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

of  ignorance, — the  effect  of  which  is,  comparative  unconscious- 
ness of  sin.  To  prevent  this,  and  the  apathy  consequent  on  it, 
the  law  was  given  on  Sinai.  By  its  strict  requirements  irri- 
tating the  depravity  of  the  heart,  and  by  its  strait  rule  detecting 
its  perverseness,  it  convinces  of  sin,  and  cuts  off  from  legal 
hopes.  It  entered,  "  that  the  offence  might  abound," — that  the 
depravity  of  heart  which  came  in  by  Adam's  apostasy,  might  be 
discovered,  and  condemned,  through  the  outward  transgressions 
induced  thereby.  "  But  where  sin  abounded,  grace  did  much 
more  abound."  The  manner  of  the  recurrence  of  the  word  "  sin" 
here  interchanged  with  "  the  offence,"  intimates  that  the  actual 
sins  which,  after  the  similitude  of  Adam's  transgression,  men 
commit,  have  their  spring  in  the  depravity  which  came  in  by 
his  offence,  and  are  witnesses  to  it.  They  are  the  effects  of  its 
growing  power ;  each  act  of  transgression  giving  new  proof  of 
the  energy  of  corruption,  and  its  growing  energy  inducing  new 
deeds  of  disobedience.  It  was  among  the  Jews  that  the  law 
thus  caused  sin  to  abound;  and  among  them  grace  much  more 
abounded,  by  the  coming  of  Christ,  of  the  seed  of  Abraham ;  and 
by  his  righteousness,  wrought  in  obedience  to  that  very  law  of 
Moses,  by  which  sin  was  made  to  abound ;  "  that  as  sin  hath 
reigned  unto  death,  even  so  might  grace  reign,  through  right- 
eousness, unto  eternal  life,  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  Thus 
not  only  does  the  salvation  of  Christ  provide  deliverance  from 
the  curse  of  the  apostasy,  but  from  that  of  the  depravity  and 
open  disobedience,  thence  flowing,  in  the  whole  race  of  man. 
Where  sin  and  death  have  held  their  dark  dominion,  there  grace 
has  erected  her  radiant  throne ;  and,  leaning  on  the  arm  of 
righteousness, — that  righteousness  which  is  God's  free  gift  to 
the  sinner, — shall  reign  over  an  innumerable  throng,  endowing 
them  with  eternal  life  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

In  the  argument  of  the  apostle  thus  far  considered,  the  follow- 
ing points  are  to  be  noticed  as  bearing  on  the  subject  of  original 

I  8.  Doctrine       Sm  5    viz-  :~ 

of  this  pew-  1.  It  designates  the  author  of  the  sin  as  the  one 
age'  man,  Adam,  acting  as  head  of  the  race,  the  imper- 

sonation of  (x6a/jto<:)  the  world. 


sect,  vii.]      Paul's  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  427 

2.  That  of  which  he  was  the  author  and  originator  is  not, 
sins,  in  the  plural,  but  "sin;"  and  the  action  in  which  it  ori- 
ginated was  "the  offence,"  "the  offence  of  one,"  "one  offence;" 
— and  that  one  as  contradistinguished  from  the  "many  offences" 
of  actual  transgressions.  The  matter,  then,  of  the  apostle's 
discussion,  is  that  depravity  or  sin  which,  by  the  one  offence, 
entered  the  world, — the  effect  of  the  apostasy  of  our  first  parents 
from  holiness  and  God.  "  Eve  is  not  named,"  says  Van  Mas- 
tricht,  "  because  the  Hebrews  were  not  accustomed  to  count 
their  genealogies  through  females ;  because  Adam  was  consti- 
tuted the  parent  and  head  of  the  human  race  by  God ;  because, 
although  at  length  made  husband  and  wife,  they  were  still  con- 
stituted but  one  public  person ;  it  may  be  added,  because  Eve 
was  made  out  of  Adam,  and  dependent  on  him."* 

3.  The  sin  of  the  one  is  predicated  of  all,  because  all  were  in 
that  one : — "  That  one  in  whom  all  sinned."  This  conclusion  is 
not  vitiated  were  we  to  admit  the  other  reading, — "  for  that  all 
sinned."  Still  would  the  statement  of  the  apostle  remain, — 
that  when  and  where  Adam  sinned,  there  and  then  all  sinned ; 
and,  when  death  passed  in  upon  him,  it  at  the  same  time  passed 
through  him  to  all,  because  all  sinned.  "  In  Adam  all  die." — 
1  Cor.  xv.  22.  Does  the  penalty,  death,  precede  the  sin  ?  Or, 
will  not  the  testimony  of  the  apostle  be  admitted,  that  they  so 
die,  because  in  him  they  sinned  ? 

4.  The  effect  of  this  community  in  the  one  offence,  is,  that  all 
men  are  in  it  sinners.  "By  one  man's  disobedience  many  were 
made  sinners,"  "all  sinned."  It  is  not  of  personal  sins — of 
actual  transgressions — that  the  apostle  here  speaks.  But  it  is 
a  sin  which  accounts  for  the  universality  of  death  over  all,  in- 
fants included, — a  sin  antedating  and  accounting  for  the  death 
which  in  Adam  all  die, — and  can,  therefore,  be  no  other  than 
that  one  offence,  the  apostasy,  in  which  in  Adam  all  sinned. 

5.  The  consequences  which  the  apostle  states,  as  resulting 
from  this  universal,  all-embracing  sin,  are,  judicial  condemna- 
tion and  penal  death :  condemnation,  not  for  other  sins,  but  for 

*  Van  Mastvicht,  Lib.  iv.  ii.  2. 


428  The  Elohim  Revealed,  [chap.  xiv. 

this;  and  death,  even  to  those  who  have  not  committed  any 
other.  "The  judgment  was  by  one  offence  to  condemnation." 
"By  the  offence  of  one,  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  con- 
demnation." "Through  the  offence  of  one,  many  be  dead." 
"By  one  man's  offence  death  reigned  by  one  man." 

6.  The  sin  which  is  thus  by  the  apostle  exhibited  as  the  one 
offence  in  which  all  men  sinned,  and  are  condemned,  in  Adam, 
he  also  presents  as  in  all  men  a  principle  of  evil,  bringing  forth 
deeds  of  sin.  "The  offence  abounds"  in  actual  sins, — the  same 
offence  which  is  the  cause  of  condemnation  to  Adam  and  the 
race.  The  offence  was  apostasy.  The  attitude  thereby  assumed 
was  enmity.     The  effect  of  the  enmity  is  actual  transgressions. 

7.  The  fundamental  principle, — the  pivot  on  which  the  whole 
argument  of  the  apostle  turns  is,  that  "death  is  the  wages  of 
sin,"  (ch.  vi.  23), — the  penalty  annexed  by  the  law  to  transgres- 
sion. Hence  the  statement  of  the  twelfth  verse,  that  death  en- 
tered the  world  by  sin ;  and  of  the  fourteenth,  that  death  reigned 
from  Adam  to  Moses  even  over  them  that  had  not  sinned  after  the 
similitude  of  Adam's  transgression;  a  fact  which  in  the  fifteenth 
verse  he  assumes  to  have  proved  the  universality  of  the  offence. 
Hence  the  declaration  (verse  seventeenth)  that  by  one  man's 
offence  death  reigned  by  one, — an  offence  by  which  the  next  verse 
declares  condemnation  to  have  come  upon  all  men.  Hence,  too, 
the  contrast  of  the  twenty-first  verse : — "  That  as  sin  hath  reigned 
unto  death,  even  so  might  grace  reign  through  righteousness 
unto  eternal  life,  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  Thus,  assuming 
that  wherever  there  is  death  there  is  sin,  the  apostle  thereby 
finds  all  men  to  be  sinners ;  and,  in  so  doing,  shows  the  propriety 
of  a  salvation  common  to  all  men.  In  the  "all"  thus  ascertained 
and  defined,  no  line  of  argument  can  justly  except  infants.  And, 
if  it  were  possible  so  to  do,  it  would  at  once  involve  their  exclu- 
sion from  a  part  in  the  salvation  of  Christ;  which,  by  the  whole 
course  of  reasoning  here  employed,  is  proclaimed  as  embracing 
none  who  are  not  embraced  in  the  offence.  It  is  for  the  offence, 
and  to  the  offenders,  that  it  provides  a  remedy. 

The  Scriptures  leave  no  room  for  difficulty  in  ascertaining 
what  Paul  means  by  all  men  being  in  Adam.    In  this  connection, 


sect,  viii.]    PauTs  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  429 

it  is  stated  as,  in  many  respects,  parallel  to  the  inbeing  of 
8  9  inhein  in  ^e  regenerate  m  Christ.  "To  all  men  death  passed 
Adam  and  in  through  the  one  in  whom  all  sinned."  "As  by  the 
Christ.  offence  of  one,  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  con- 

demnation;  even  so  by  the  righteousness  of  one  the  free  gift 
came  upon  all  men  unto  justification  of  life." — v.  18.  "There 
is  therefore  now  no  condemnation  to  them  which  are  in  Christ 
Jesus." — Ch.  viii.  1.  Such  is  the  parallel.  As  there  is  con- 
demnation to  all  who  are  in  Adam ;  so,  there  is  no  condemnation 
to  those  who  are  in  Christ.  Here  two  things  are  to  be  observed. 
The  first  is,  that,  as  must  be  admitted,  the  case  of  our  condemna- 
tion in  Adam  is  cited,  with  express  design  to  illustrate  how  we 
are  justified  in  Christ.  "As  by  one  man  condemnation,  so  by 
one  man  justification."  Or,  as  the  apostle  elsewhere  says,  "As 
in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Jesus  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive." 
— 1  Cor.  xv.  22.  The  second  is,  that,  by  being  "in  Christ,"  is 
unquestionably  meant,  a  substantial,  and  not  a  merely  construc- 
tive, relation  to  him.  "  To  be  in  Christ  Jesus  signifies  to  be  inti- 
mately united  to  him  in  the  way  in  which  the  Scriptures  teach 
us  this  union  is  effected ;  viz.,  by  having  his  Spirit  dwelling  in 
us. — Rom.  viii.  9.  The  phrase  is  never  used  for  a  merely  ex- 
ternal or  nominal  union.  '  If  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new 
creature.' — 2  Cor.  v.  17.  See  John  xv.  4,  &c. ;  1  John  ii.  5,  iii. 
6."*  In  the  new  birth,  "by  one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptized 
into  one  body,"  "the  body  of  Christ."— 1  Cor.  xii.  13,  27.  The 
conclusion  is  therefore  inevitable,  that,  as  inbeing  in  Christ 
is  expressive  of  a  real  oneness,  wrought  by  the  communication 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  incorruptible  seed,  imparting  a  new  life 
and  nature ;  so,  inbeing  in  Adam,  by  which  the  other  is  illustrated 
and  set  forth  by  Paul,  expresses  a  real  union  with  him,  conse- 
quent upon  the  generative  derivation  of  life  and  nature  from 
him.  That  such  is  the  meaning  of  Paul,  is  further  evident,  from 
the  fact  that  inbeing  is  the  established  scriptural  phrase  ex- 
pressive of  the  relation  of  the  child  to  the  father: — "Levi  paid 
tithes  in  Abraham.  For  he  was  yet  in  the  loins  of  his  father 
when  Melchizedek  met  him." — Heb.  vii.  9,  10.     Compare  Gen. 

*  Hodge  on  the  Romans,  oh.  viii.  1;  12mo,  1858,  p.  181. 


430  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

xv.  4,  xxxv.  11;  2  Kings  xx.  18;  Isa.  li.  1.  To  the  same  effect 
are  such  expressions  as  that  in  Job: — "Who  can  bring  a  clean 
thing  out  of  an  unclean?" — Job  xiv.  4. 

Paul,  stating  that  Adam  was  the  type  of  Christ,  runs  a 
parallel  between  them;  the  main  features  of  which  are  readily 
traced.  The  first  is,  that  as  Adam's  seed  were  in  him,  in  a 
relation  real  and  substantial,  so  the  seed  of  Christ  are  in  him,  in 
a  manner  equally  real  and  close.  The  second  point  is,  that  as, 
by  virtue  of  our  inbeing  in  Adam,  we  hold  such  a  relation  to  his 
sin  as  to  be  for  it  justly  condemned  under  the  curse, — so,  be- 
lievers are,  by  virtue  of  union  with  Christ,  invested  with  such  a 
property  in  his  righteousness  that  in  it  they  are  justified.  Here, 
however,  occurs  a  point  of  difference,  intimated,  as  we  have  seen, 
by  the  form  of  expression  which  is  used  by  the  apostle.  The  sin 
of  Adam,  by  which  we  are  brought  under  condemnation,  is  ours 
originally,  natively  and  intrinsically ;  because  we  were  in  and  of 
the  sinning  head,  in  the  transgression ;  and  the  nature  which  we 
inherit  and  originally  possess  is  the  very  nature  by  which  the 
apostasy  was  wrought.  Hence,  the  offence  is  immediately  and 
natively  ours ;  and  therefore  is  charged  upon  us.  As  attributed 
to  us,  it  is  "the  offence."  But  the  righteousness  in  which  we 
are  justified  is  extrinsic  and  foreign  to  our  nature.  "We  were  so 
far  from  being  natively  in  its  author,  when  he  wrought  it,  that 
our  native  position  toward  him  is  that  of  alienation  and  antago- 
nism. And  it  is  only  by  factitious  means, — by  renewing  influ- 
ences, superimposed  upon  our  nature, — that  we  are  brought  into 
a  relation  of  membership  in  him.  The  righteousness,  therefore, 
of  which  we  become  possessed,  by  union  with  Christ,  is  not  ours 
in  any  such  sense  as  though  we  had  a  part  in  the  merit  of  work- 
ing it;  but  only,  as  the  robe  wrought  by  Christ  and  bestowed 
by  his  grace,  covers  the  nakedness  of  all  his  members.  It  is 
ours  only  as  "  the  free  gift."  This  difference  between  the  nature 
of  our  relation  to  Adam  and  to  Christ  is  emphasized  by  the 
apostle,  in  another  place,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  by  repre- 
senting believers  as  native  branches  of  the  wild  olive-tree,  which 
are  graffed  contrary  to  nature  into  the  good  olive. 

The  only  other  point  which  we  shall  now  specify,  in  which 


sect,  ix.]      Paul's  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  431 

the  parallel  between  Adam  and  Christ  holds,  is  brought  out 
more  particularly  in  the  following  chapters  of  the  epistle,  to 
which  attention  will  next  be  given.  It  is,  that, — as  the  nature 
which  we  derive  from  Adam  not  only  involves  us  in  the  guilt 
and  condemnation  of  his  apostasy,  but  remains  in  us  an  active 
principle  of  sin,  working  unholiness  and  transgression, — so,  the 
Holy  Spirit,  uniting  us  to  Christ,  not  only  gives  us  a  title  in  his 
justifying  righteousness,  but  constitutes  a  principle  of  holiness, 
operating  within,  to  the  utter  destruction  of  sin.  This  is  the 
whole  burden  of  the  6th  and  7th  chapters;  and  is  the  key  to 
that  expression  which  is  used  in  the  6th  verse  of  the  6th 
chapter: — "Our  old  man  is  crucified  with  Christ,  that  the 
body  of  sin  might  be  destroyed,  that  henceforth  we  should  not 
serve  sin."  This  form  of  expression  is  familiar  to  Paul  as  indi- 
cating that  corrupt  nature  which  we  derive  from  Adam,  the 
fruits  of  which  are  transgression  and  death.  Thus,  he  exhorts 
the  Ephesians,  that  they  "put  off,  concerning  the  former  con- 
versation, the  old  man,  which  is  corrupt  according  to  the  deceit- 
ful lusts;  .  .  .  and  that  ye  put  on  the  new  man,  which  after 
God  is  created  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness." — Eph.  iv. 
22-24.  So,  he  says  to  the  Colossians,  "Lie  not  one  to  another, 
seeing  that  ye  have  put  off  the  old  man  with  his  deeds ;  and  have 
put  on  the  new  man,  which  is  renewed  in  knowledge  after  the 
image  of  him  that  created  him." — Col.  iii.  9,  10.  The  argu- 
ment of  Paul  on  the  subject  of  the  resurrection  gives  occasion 
to  a  series  of  passages,  in  which  the  same  parallel  between  the 
first  and  second  Adam  is  pointedly  announced,  and  much  light 
thrown  on  the  other  places  already  quoted.  "Since  by  man 
came  death,  by  man  came  also  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  For 
as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive.  But 
every  man  in  his  own  order :  Christ  the  first  fruits,  afterward 
they  that  are  Christ's,  at  his  coming." — 1  Cor.  xv.  21-23.  Again, 
with  a  vigour  of  expression  which  recognises  the  existence  of 
but  two  men  on  earth, — "the  first  man"  and  "the  second,"  of 
one  or  other  of  whom  the  rest  of  the  world  are  but  particular 
members, — he  says  that  "  the  first  man  Adam  was  made  a  living 
soul,  the  last  Adam  was  made  a  quickening  spirit,  .  .  .  The  first 


432  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

man  is  of  the  earth,  earthy;  the  second  man  is  the  Lord  from 
heaven.  As  is  the  earthy,  such  are  they  also  that  are  earthy ; 
and  as  is  the  heavenly,  such  are  they  also  that  are  heavenly." — 
v.  45-48. 

This  doctrine  of  the  oneness  of  the. race,  in  Adam,  and.  of  be- 
lievers, in  Christ,  is  brought  out  by  the  apostle,  again  and  again, 
in  the  sequel  of  this  epistle.  In  the  ninth  chapter,  vindicating 
the  sovereignty  of  God,  which  is  signalized  in  the  election  of 
some  and  the  rejection  of  others,  irrespective  of  nation  or 
family,  he  describes  the  whole  race  as  one  mass  or  lump  of  cor- 
rupt material;  from  which  God,  as  he  sees  good,  makes  vessels 
of  mercy  and  of  wrath : — "  Hath  not  the  potter  power  over  the 
clay,  of  the  same  lump  to  make  one  vessel  unto  honour  and 
another  vessel  unto  dishonour  ?  What  if  God,  willing  to  show 
his  wrath,  and  to  make  his  power  known,  endured  with  much  long- 
suffering  the  vessels  of  wrath  fitted  to  destruction ;  and  that  he 
might  make  known  the  riches  of  his  glory  on  the  vessels  of 
mercy,  which  he  had  afore  prepared  unto  glory;  even  us,  whom 
he  hath  called,  not  of  the  Jews  only,  but  also  of  the  Gentiles?" 
— Rom.  ix.  21-24.  Here,  the  human  family  is  represented  as  a 
unit, — a  lump,  all  depraved, — out  of  which  each  individual  is 
brought  into  several  existence,  and  either  left  to  the  depravity 
characteristic  of  the  lump,  and  the  perdition  appropriate  to  it; 
or,  in  the  display  of  the  riches  of  God's  infinitely  glorious  grace, 
prepared  unto  glory,  as  a  vessel  of  mercy. 

Again,  in  the  eleventh  chapter,  in  exhibiting  the  principles  of 
God's  dealings  in  rejecting  Israel  and  calling  in  the  Gentiles,  the 
apostle  pursues  a  line  of  argument  and  illustration  which  still 
more  clearly  sets  forth  our  doctrine  :■ — 

Ver.  15.  "  If  the  casting  away  of  them  [that  is,  the  Jews]  be 
the  reconciling  of  the  world,  what  shall  the  receiving  of  them 
be  but  life  from  the  dead?  16  For  if  the  first- fruit  be  holy,  the 
lump  is  also  holy :  and  if  the  root  be  holy,  so  are  the  branches. 
17  And  if  some  of  the  branches  be  broken  off,  and  thou,  being 
a  wild  olive-tree,  wert  graffed  in  among  them,  and  with  them 
partakest  of  the  root  and  fatness  of  the  olive-tree ;  1S  Boast  not 
against  the  branches.     But  if   thou   boast,  thou   bearest  not 


sect,  ix.]       Paul's  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  433 

the  root,  but  the  root  thee.  19  Thou  wilt  say  then,  The 
branches  were  broken  off,  that  I  might  be  grafted  in.  20  Well ; 
because  of  unbelief  they  were  broken  off,  and  thou  standest  by 
faith.  Be  not  highrninded,  but  fear :  21  For  if  God  spared  not 
the  natural  branches,  take  heed  lest  he  also  spare  not  thee. 
22  Behold  therefore  the  goodness  and  severity  of  God :  on  them 
which  fell,  severity ;  but  toward  thee,  goodness,  if  thou  continue 
in  his  goodness  :  otherwise  thou  also  shalt  be  cut  off.  23  And 
they  also,  if  they  abide  not  still  in  unbelief,  shall  be  grafted  in ; 
for  God  is  able  to  graft  them  in  again.  21  For  if  thou  wert  cut 
out  of  the  olive-tree  which  is  wild  by  nature,  and  wert  grafted, 
contrary  to  nature,  into  a  good  olive-tree;  how  much  more 
shall  these,  which  be  the  natural  branches,  be  grafted  into  their 
own  olive-tree." 

The  comparison  employed  in  the  first  clause  of  the  16th  verse 
has  allusion  to  that  feature  of  the  Mosaic  institutions  which  is  thus 
stated  in  Num.  xv.  20,  21 : — "  Ye  shall  offer  up  a  cake  of  the  first 
of  your  dough  for  a  heave-offering :  as  ye  do  the  heave-offering 
of  the  threshing-floor,  so  shall  ye  heave  it.  Of  the  first  of  your 
dough  ye  shall  give  unto  the  Lord  a  heave-offering  in  your  ge- 
nerations." See  Lev.  xxiii.  14-20.  Thus,  the  first  portion  of 
bread  or  dough,  dedicated  to  God,  hallowed  the  whole  lump. 
So  the  patriarchs,  being  holy  to  God,  constituted  their  seed  his 
people.  God  claimed  them  as  his ;  and  would  ultimately  vindi- 
cate the  claim  by  recalling  them  from  their  apostasy,  and  re- 
storing to  them  the  privileges  of  his  people.  "  And  if  the  root 
be  holy,  so  are  the  branches."  The  same  idea  is  here  more  fully 
expressed.  If  the  fathers,  the  root  of  the  stock  of  Israel,  were 
in  covenant  with  God,  and,  as  such,  his  people;  their  seed, 
springing  from  and  being  in  them,  as  branches  in  the  root,  are 
therefore  his  also. 

In  the  next  verse,  and  those  following,  the  apostle  still  further 
expands  his  illustration  and  extends  its  application.  Under 
the  figure  of  the  good  olive-tree,  he  represents  the  whole  church 
of  God, — of  which  each  particular  believer  is  a  branch, — all 
possessing  one  root,  one  life,  and  fatness,  and  fruit.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  wild  olive  represents  the  human  family,  of 

28 


434  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

■which  Adam  is  the  root,  from  whom  it  derives  its  vital  principle, 
its  alien  nature  and  corrupt  and  poisonous  fruit.  Here  it  may 
be  objected,  that  by  the  root  of  the  good  olive-tree  is  meant 
Abraham,  and  by  the  branches,  the  people  of  God,  considered  as 
his  seed.  This  is  true,  but  not  the  whole  truth.  Says  Henry, 
"  The  root  of  this  tree  was  Abraham ;  not  the  root  of  communi- 
cation ;  so,  Christ  only  is  the  root ;  but  the  root  of  administra- 
tion ;  he  being  the  first  with  whom  the  covenant  was  so  solemnly 
made."  The  apostle  is  not  in  this  place  considering  so  much 
the  relation  of  the  church  immediately  to  Christ,  as  to  the 
privileges  and  promises  bestowed  upon  Abraham.  Yet  the 
other  is  not  left  out  of  view,  but  is  fundamental  to  the  whole 
case.  The  principle  of  unity — that  by  which  all  the  branches 
have  community  in  the  root  and  fatness  of  the  tree — is  certainly 
not  the  seed  of  Abraham,  but  the  Spirit  of  Christ ;  and  the 
people  of  God  have  Abraham  for  their  father  only  as  he  was  a 
type  of  Christ,  to  whom,  in  him,  the  promise  that  he  should  be 
heir  of  the  world  was  made,  as  the  apostle  elsewhere  declares. 
(Gal.  iii.  19.)  That  such  is  the  design  of  the  apostle,  is  con- 
clusively demonstrated  by  the  whole  course  of  argument  which 
he  adopts  on  the  subject  in  the  third  chapter  of  the  epistle  to 
the  Galatians : — " 7  Know  ye  therefore  that  they  which  are 
of  faith,  the  same  are  the  children  of  Abraham.  8  And  the 
Scripture,  foreseeing  that  God  would  justify  the  heathen 
through  faith,  preached  before  the  gospel  unto  Abraham, 
saying,  In  thee  shall  all  nations  be  blessed.  9  So  then  they 
which  be  of  faith  are  blessed  with  faithful  Abraham.  .  .  .  16  Now 
to  Abraham  and  his  seed  were  the  promises  made.  He  saith 
not,  And  to  seeds,  as  of  many ;  but,  as  of  one,  And  to  thy  seed ; 
which  is  Christ.  .  .  .  19  Wherefore  then  serveth  the  law  ?  It  was 
added  because  of  transgressions,  till  the  Seed  should  come,  to 
whom  the  promise  was  made ;  and  it  was  ordained  by  angels  in 
the  hand  of  a  mediator.  ...  26  Ye  are  all  the  children  of  God  by 
faith  in  Christ  Jesus.  ^  For  as  many  of  you  as  have  been 
baptized  into  Christ  have  put  on  Christ.  2S  There  is  neither  Jew 
nor  Greek,  there  is  neither  bond  nor  free,  there  is  neither  male 
nor  female  ;  for  ye  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus.    29  And  if  ye  be 


sect,  ix.]       Pauls  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  435 

Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs  according  to  the 
promise."  Unquestionably,  then,  Christ  himself  is  the  essential 
root  of  the  good  olive,  from  whom  life  and  fatness  flow  to  all  the 
branches,  and  in  whom  they  "are  all  one."  And  to  this  is  parallel 
the  wild  olive,  of  which  Adam  is  the  root,  in  whom  all  his  seed 
are  one,  according  to  the  decree  of  creation: — "Let  us  make 
man,  and  let  them  have  dominion," — Gen.  i.  26 ;  and  the  state- 
ment of  Paul : — "  God  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of 
men,  for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth." — Acts  xvii.  26. 
"The  human  family  is  not  only  one  blood,  but  the  blood  of 
Adam  is  that  one  blood."* 

Thus  everywhere  does  the  apostle  hold  up  the  two  cases  of 
our  apostasy,  condemnation  and  death  in  Adam,  and  our 
recovery,  justification  and  life  in  Christ,  as  parallel  to  and 
mutually  illustrating  each  other.  The  conclusion,  therefore,  is 
unavoidable,  that  we  are  guilty  in  Adam  in  a  way  similar  to 
that  in  which  we  are  justified  in  Christ,  with  only  this  difference: 
that  in  the  former  case  the  relation  is  one  native  and  intrinsic, 
and  therefore  involves  us  in  the  crime  and  condemnation  by  an 
immediate  judgment  proper  to  us;  in  the  other,  the  relation  is 
supernatural  and  by  free  gift,  and  therefore  the  sentence  of  justi- 
fication is  by  grace.  "But  that," says  Calvin,  " is  well  known 
to  be  accomplished,  only  when  Christ,  by  a  wonderful  communi- 
cation, transfuses  into  us  the  virtue  of  his  righteousness,  as  it  is 
elsewhere  said,  '  The  Spirit  is  life  because  of  righteousness.'  "f 

The  view  here  taken  of  the  design  and  meaning  of  the  lan- 
guage of  Paul,  is  strenuously  controverted  by  a  distinguished 
divine  and  expositor  of  our  own  church.  Dr.  Hodge,  in  his 
commentary  on  the  epistle  to  the  Romans,  enumerates  three  in- 
terpretations as  the  leading  ones  upon  the  passage  in  question. 
"1.  Many  of  the  older  and  also  of  the  more  modern  commen- 
tators, understand  sin  here  to  mean  corruption.  ...  2.  Others 
take  the  word  sin  in  its  ordinary  sense,  and  understand  the  passage 
as  teaching,  either  that  Adam  was  the  cause  or  occasion  of  all 
men  committing  sin,  or  that  sin  commenced  with  him.  ...  3. 

*  Breckinridge's  Knowledge  of  God  Objectively  Considered,  p.  487. 
|  Calvin's  Institutes,  Book  II.  i.  6. 


436  The  Eldhim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

Others  again  understand  the  declaration,  that  through  Adam 
sin  entered  into  the  world,  {i.e.  that  through  him  all  men 
became  sinners,)  to  mean  that  on  his  account  they  were  regarded 
and  treated  as  sinners."  Of  these  interpretations,  the  first  is 
that  which  is  common  to  the  Eeformed  writers.  It  is,  however, 
misapprehended  by  Dr.  Hodge,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see.  The 
second  is  that  of  Pelagius  and  his  followers.  The  third  is 
adopted  by  Professor  Hodge.  "  The  third  interpretation,  ac- 
cording to  which  the  words  in  question  mean,  '  all  men  are  re- 
garded and  treated  as  sinners,'  is  to  be  preferred.  The  verse 
then  contains  this  idea : — '  As  by  one  man  all  men  became  sinners 
and  exposed  to  death,  and  thus  death  passed  on  all  men,  since 
all  sinned, — i.e.  are  regarded  as  sinners  on  his  account, — even 
so  by  one  man,'  &c.*" 

It  is  with  deference  that  we  venture  to  controvert  the  exposi- 
tion of  this  esteemed  and  distinguished  commentator  and  divine. 
In  taking  such  a  position,  however,  we  are  fortified  by  the 
almost  unanimous  concurrence  of  the  standard  writers  of  the 
Reformed  church,  who  harmonize  with  our  interpretation  of 
Paul.  Dr.  Hodge's  exposition  seems  to  us  inconsistent  alike 
with  the  grammatical  structure  and  sense  of  the  passage,  and 
with  the  scope  and  design  of  the  apostle. 

The  statement  of  Paul  is  that  "by  one  man  sin  entered  into 
the  world,  and  death  by  sin,  and  so  to  all  men  death  passed 
2 10.  Hodge  on  through  the  one  in  whom  all  sinned."  According 
the  word,  sin.  to  Dr.  Hods;e,  "the  verse  contains  this  idea: — 'As 
by  one  man  all  men  became  sinners  and  exposed  to  death,  and 
thus  death  passed  on  all  men,  since  all  sinned, — i.e.  are  regarded 
and  treated  as  sinners  on  his  account, — even  so  by  one  man,'  &c." 
Our  objection  to  this  statement,  as  an  interpretation  or  exposi- 
tion of  the  language  of  the  apostle,  is  precisely  the  same  which 
the  respected  expositor  has  expressed,  with  admirable  clearness 
in  a  somewhat  parallel  case : — "  The  two  expressions,  or  de- 
clarations, '  I  adopt  the  system  of  doctrine  contained  in  the  Con- 
fession of  Faith,'  and  'I  adopt  that  system  for  substance  of  doc- 
trine,' are  not  identical.    The  one  therefore  cannot  be  substituted 

*  Hodge  on  the  Romans,  pp.  116,  118. 


sect,  ix.]       PauTs  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  437 

for  the  other.  If  there  were  no  other  difference  between  them, 
it  is  enough  that  the  one  is  definite  and  univocal,  the  other  is 
both  vague  and  equivocal."*  The  language  of  Paul,  in  question, 
is  remarkable  for  its  simplicity  and  directness, — the  absence  of 
any  thing  like  vague,  figurative  or  ambiguous  expressions, — the 
distinct  demarcation,  and  logical  connection,  of  the  successive 
clauses  of  the  argument, — and  the  abundant  light  shed  upon  it, 
by  the  amplifications  and  analogy,  which  are  unfolded  in  the  rest 
of  the  chapter.  The  first  proposition  stated,  is,  that  "by  one 
man  sin  entered  into  the  world."  Here,  by  the  noun,  sin,  it  can 
scarcely  be  questioned,  is  meant  something  real,  of  which  en- 
trance into  the  world  is  predicable.  Whatever  it  was,  it  entered, 
— entered  by  one  man;  and  brought  death  in  its  train, — "death 
by  sin."  Dr.  Hodge  here  states  that  by,  sin,  many  understand, 
corruption;  and  asserts  that,  according  to  this  interpretation,  the 
passage  means  that  "  as  by  one  man  corruption  of  nature  was 
introduced  into  the  world,  and  death  as  its  consequence,  and  so 
death  passed  on  all  men,  because  all  have  become  corrupt,"  &c. 
To  this  he  urges  several  objections, — all  based,  as  we  conceive,  in 
a  misapprehension.  Taking  the  word,  sin,  to  signify  corruption, 
the  corresponding  interpretation  of  the  passage  is  this : — "  As  by 
one  man  corruption  entered  the  world,  and  death  by  corruption, 
and  so  to  all  men  death  passed  through  the  one  in  whom  all  em- 
braced corruption."  The  phrase,  "all  sinned,"  expresses  not 
merely  the  occurrence  of  a  state, — the  becoming  corrupt, — but 
active  and  responsible  entrance  on  it.  If,  sin,  mean  corruption, 
then  the  corresponding  sense  of  the  verb,  to  sin,  must  be,  to  act 
corruptly ;  and  in  the  present  case  it  is  clearly  defined  to  be  the 
initial  action, — the  embrace  of  it.  And  such  was  the  interpre- 
tation given  by  the  Preformed  writers.  Says  Witsius,  "It  is 
very  clear  to  any  not  bewitched  with  prejudice,  that  when  the 
apostle  affirms,  that,  'all  have  sinned,'  he  speaks  of  an  act  of 
sinning,  or  of  an  actual  sin;  the  very  term,  to  sin,  denoting  an 
action.  'Tis  one  thing,  to  sin ;  another,  to  be  sinful ;  if  I  may  so 
speak."f     This  interpretation  is  open  to  none  of  the  exceptions 

*  Princeton  Review,  1858,  vol.  xxx.  p.  672. 
|  Witsius  on  the  Covenants,  book  i.  viii.  31. 


438  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

stated  by  our  expositor.  Its  only  defect  arises  from  the  fact, 
that  the  word,  "corruption,"  is  not  comprehensive  enough  to  be 
an  adequate  synonym  for,  sin.  Nor  is  there  any  in  our  language ; 
signifying,  as  does  that  word,  every  thing  that  is  of  the  nature 
of  moral  evil.  Disobedience,  unrighteousness,  transgression, 
unlawfulness,  unholiness,  apostasy,  corruption,  depravity, — all 
are  expressed  in  that  one  little  monosyllable.  And  in  fact  the 
Reformed  expositors  do  not  confine  themselves  to  any  one  of  these 
words;  but  freely  use  them  all;  not  as  expressive  of  different 
things,  but  of  the  several  aspects  of  the  one  moral  evil,  sin. 
That  such  is  the  sense  of  the  word,  we  have  already  seen  the 
evidence.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  Dr.  Hoclge,  after  stating 
and  rejecting  the  definitions  of  others,  fails  to  propose  one  him- 
self:— "Many  of  the  older  and  also  of  the  more  modern  com- 
mentators understand,  sin,  here  to  mean  corruption.  This  clause 
would  then  mean — 'By  one  man  all  men  became  corrupt.' 
Others  take  the  word,  sin,  in  its  ordinary  sense,  and  understand 
the  passage  as  teaching,  either,  that  Adam  was  the  cause  or  oc- 
casion of  all  men  committing  sin,  or,  that  sin  commenced  with 
him ;  he  was  the  first  sinner.  Others  again  understand  the  de- 
claration that  through  Adam  sin  entered  the  world,  {i.e.  that 
through  him  all  men  became  sinners,)  to  mean  that  on  his  ac- 
count they  were  regarded  and  treated  as  sinners."*  Adopting 
the  latter  view,  he  entirely  neglects  to  show  how  it  is  reconcila- 
ble with  the  language  of  the  apostle,  or  reducible  to  the  terms 
of  his  statement,  or  how,  in  accordance  with  it,  the  word,  sin, 
is  to  be  understood.  "By  one  man  .  .  .  entered  into  the  world." 
With  what,  according  to  this  exposition,  is  the  blank  to  be  filled? 
In  support  of  the  position  that  the  phrase,  "all  sinned,"  means 
merely  that  all  men  were  regarded  and  treated  as  sinners,  Dr. 
Hodge  appeals  to  the  language  of  Judah  respecting  Benjamin: 
— "If  I  bring  him  not  unto  thee,  I  shall  bear  the  blame;" — lite- 
rally, "I  shall  have  sinned  to  thee;" — Gen.  xliii.  9,  xliv.  32; 
and  that  of  Bathsheba : — "  I  and  my  son  Solomon  shall  be  counted 
offenders;" — literally,  "will  be  sinners." — 1  Kings i.  21.  These 
places  will  be  fully  considered  hereafter.     We  will  only  here 

*  Hodge  on  the  Romans,  p.  116. 


sect,  x.]        PoluVs  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  439 

use  the  argument  of  Witsius  on  the  subject: — '"A  sinner/  or 
even  'sin,'  and  'to  sin,'  are  different  things."  To  establish  the 
position  of  the  professor,  it  is  necessary  not  only  to  show  that 
one  of  these  phrases  may  be  understood  in  the  sense  given  by 
him,  but  that  all  of  them  must  be  so  interpreted.  It  must  be 
made  to  appear  that,  although  the  Spirit  of  God  asserts  sin  to 
have  entered, — men  thus  to  have  become  sinners, — death  to  be 
the  wages  of  sin,  and  to  have  entered  by  it, — death  to  have 
passed  upon  all  men,  through  the  one  in  whom  all  sinned;  or, 
because  all  sinned, — and  sin  to  reign  by  nature  in  all;  yet  in  all 
this,  there  is  no  real  depravity,  no  sin,  contemplated  in  the  case. 
To  admit  that  the  word,  sin,  in  the  twelfth  verse,  means  real  sin, 
involves  several  pregnant  conclusions,  which  the  professor  rejects. 
The  sin,  described  in  that  verse,  is  represented  as  a  something 
which  entered  into  the  world  or  race  of  man,  and  which  is  the 
cause  of  death  coextensive  with  the  race.  If  then  it  is  real  sin, 
in  its  origin,  it  is  the  real  sin  of  the  race.  Not  only  so;  but, 
the  word  being  allowed  to  mean  real  sin,  its  derivatives,  used  as 
they  are  in  intimate  connection  with  it,  must  be  understood  in 
a  corresponding  sense.  A  sinner,  must  then  be  one  in  whom 
real  sin  is;  and,  to  sin,  must  mean,  to  enact  real  sin. 

But  let  us  look  a  little  more  closely.  "  On  account  of  Adam's 
211  Rerarded  sin>  we  are  regarded  and  treated  as  sinners."  Re- 
and  treatedas  garde'd  as  sinners,  by  whom  ?  By  the  all-seeing, 
sinners.  ^iq    a]]_wisej  the    ever    true    and     gracious    God. 

Here,  then,  the  question  presents  itself, — Is  the  light  in  which 
God  thus  regards  us,  the  true  light  ?  If  the  answer  be  in  the 
affirmative,  the  question  is  settled.  We  are,  then,  sinners,  really 
and  truly;  and,  therefore,  so  treated  by  God.  If  this  alternative 
be  denied, — if  it  be  assumed  that  we  are  not  truly  sinners  in 
Adam's  sin, — we  are  shut  up  to  the  atheistic  conclusion,  that  the 
divine  judgment  is  not  according  to  truth.  Whilst  thus  the 
regarding  us  as  sinners,  involves  the  question  of  God's  infallible 
knowledge,  and  the  truth  of  his  estimates,  the  treatment  of  us 
as  sinners  raises  an  issue  of  equal  directness  in  regard  to  other 
attributes.  The  declarative  righteousness  and  justice  of  God 
can  consist  in  nothing  else,  than  his  treating  his  accountable 


440  The  Elolrim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

creatures  according  to  fact  and  truth.  Says  Abraham,  "  That 
be  far  from  thee,  to  do  after  this  manner,  to  slay  the  righteous 
with  the  wicked;  and  that  the  righteous  should  be  as  the 
wicked,  that  be  far  from  thee.  Shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the 
earth  do  right?" — Gen.  xviii.  25.  If,  then,  God  treats  us  as 
sinners,  there  is  but  one  alternative, — either  to  impeach  his  jus- 
tice, or  to  confess  that  we  are  sinners. 

There  is  an  apparent  incompatibility  in  the  various  statements 
of  the  respected  expositor,  which  makes  it  difficult  to  determine 
the  precise  sense  in  which  he  is  to  be  understood.  "  All  men  are 
regarded  and  treated  as  sinners."  Such  is  his  interpretation 
of  Paul.  But  what  does  it  mean  ?  Does  God  really  consider 
all  men  as,  in  Adam's  sin,  transgressors  and  criminals  ?  Are 
they  looked  upon  as  partakers  in  the  moral  enormity  of  his 
deed  ?  Does  its  turpitude  attach  to  them  ?  This,  Dr.  Hodge 
strenuously  denies.  "There  is  no  transfer  of  the  moral  turpi- 
tude of  Adam's  sin  to  his  descendants."  His  sin  "is  not 
properly  the  sin  of  all  men,"  and  God  does  not  so  consider  it. 
What,  then,  is  meant  by  God  regarding  them  as  sinners  ?  How 
are  we  to  understand  the  language  thus  employed  ?  What  more 
does  it  mean,  than  that  they  are  so  treated  ? 

It  may  be  said,  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  regarded  and 
treated  as  a  sinner.  To  this  proposition,  however,  we  most  em- 
phatically except.  He  was  regarded  and  treated  no  otherwise,  than 
as  being  precisely  what  he  was,  the  Father's  spotless  Son,  the  spon- 
taneous substitute,  the  vicarious  sacrifice  for  sinners.  But,  that 
he  was  regarded  and  treated  by  the  Father  as  a  sinner, — Never  ! 
So  far  the  reverse,  that,  whilst  fulfilling  his  atoning  work,  he 
had  the  repeated  attestation  of  the  Father,  that  he  was  the 
beloved  Son,  in  whom  he  was  well  pleased.  In  Gethsemane 
itself,  heavenly  messengers  manifested  the  Father's  love.  True, 
"  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him."  But  an  essential  feature 
in  the  case,  the  grand  causative  element  in  its  glorious  cha- 
racter, was  his  recognised  innocence ;  "  because  he  had  done  no 
violence,  neither  was  any  deceit  in  his  mouth." — Isa.  liii.  9. 

But  is  it  not  said  that  the  Lord  "made  him  to  be  sin  for  us"? 
— 2  Cor.  v.  21.     True ;  nor  is  there  any  difficulty  in  ascertain- 


sect,  xi.]       PauTs  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  441 

ing  the  meaning  of  the  place.  The  expression  is  the  constantly 
a  12.  Christ  accepted  phrase  employed  in  the  Mosaic  Law,  to 
"made  sin"  indicate  the  devoting  of  a  thing  as  a  vicarious 
for  us.  atoning  sacrifice  for  sin.     Thus,  Lev.  iv.  25  : — "  The 

priest  shall  take  (naann  dt?  d.7zb  zoo  dlfmroc,  rob  r^c  hfiaprlaq)  of 
the  blood  of  the  sin."  Lev.  v.  9: — "He  shall  sprinkle  of  the 
blood  of  the  sin  upon  the  side  of  the  altar ;  and  the  rest  of  the 
blood  shall  be  wrung  out  at  the  bottom  of  the  altar;  for 
(tan  nxan)  it  is  sin."  See  also  Lev.  iv.  3,  29,  v.  12,  viii.  2; 
Psalm  xl.  7 ;  Ezek.  xliii.  22,  25,  xliv.  29,  xlv.  22,  23,  25,  &c.  Thus 
does  the  apostle  use  the  very  same  expression  in  regard  to 
Christ,  and  in  the  same  sense,  which  the  Spirit  of  God  habitually 
uses,  when  he  says  of  the  sacrificial  sin  offering,  "  It  is  sin."  "  Him 
who  knew  no  sin  he  hath  made  to  be  a  sin-offering  for  us,  that 
we  might  become  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him."  An  undue 
stress  is  sometimes  put  upon  the  antithesis  which  is  apparent 
in  the  text.  The  correspondence  between  the  two  members  of 
the  sentence,  is  not  at  all  so  strong  in  the  original,  as  in  the 
translation.  The  language  of  the  apostle  is,  that  "him  who 
knew  no  sin  (moiTjoev)  he  hath  made  sin  for  us,  that  {jivcbptQa) 
we  might  become  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him."  The  phrase- 
ology of  the  former  clause  is  expressive  of  that  efficient  action, 
by  which  God  gave  his  Son  to  be  a  propitiation  for  our  sins. 
That  of  the  latter  indicates  entrance  upon  a  state,  the  acquisi- 
tion of  a  new  life  of  holiness  by  virtue  of  inbeing  in  Christ;  as 
the  apostle  has  previously  testified,  that,  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ, 
he  is  a  new  creature." — v.  17.  There  is  nothing  in  the  whole 
connection  to  require  the  phrase  in  question  to  be  interpreted  in 
any  other  than  its  well-known  and  established  sense: — "He  hath 
made  him  to  be  a  sin-offering."  The  expression  being  sacer- 
dotal, in  its  idiomatic  use, — familiar  to  Paul,  as  such,  in  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures,  from  which  he  continually  derives  his  illus- 
trations respecting  the  person  and  work  of  Christ, — and  used  by 
him  in  reference  to  Christ's  sacrificial  work, — it  is  unreasonable  to 
suppose,  without  necessity,  that  he  would  depart  from  the  accepted 
meaning.  "  Paul,  viewing  Christ  according  to  the  common  and 
received  mode  of  speaking,  here  represents  him  as  having  been 


442  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

made  sin ;  not  because  he  was  accounted  a  sinner  by  men,  which 
some  injudiciously  suppose ;  for  here  the  subject  is  respecting  God's 
tribunal,  and  not  men's ; — nor  because  he  was  made  in  the  likeness 
of  sinful  flesh,  as  Paul  elsewhere  says, — Eom.  viii.  3;  as  supposed 
by  others ;  for  this  is  too  weak  to  correspond  with  the  vigour  of 
Paul's  expression ;  for  it  is  one  thing  to  bear  the  likeness  of  sin- 
ful flesh,  another  to  be  made  sin ; — but  because  he  bore  all  the 
punishment  of  sin,  imposed  upon  him  as  an  expiatory  victim,  so 
that  by  the  sweet-smelling  sacrifice  of  the  cross  he  might  satisfy 
the  Most  High  and  purge  our  sins."*  Owen,  objecting  to  this 
interpretation,  asserts  that  the  authors  of  the  Septuagint "  render 
nxttn  constantly  by  apapzia,  where  it  signifies,  sin  ;  where  it 
denotes,  an  offering  for  sin,  and  they  retain  that  word,  they  do  it 
by  t:s(jc  apapziac;,  an  elliptical  expression,  which  they  invented 
for  that  which  they  knew  apapzia  of  itself  neither  did  nor  could 
Bignifie.  Lev.  iv.  3,  14,  32,  35 ;  v.  6,  7,  8,  9, 10,  11 ;  vi.  30 ;  viii.  2. 
And  they  never  omit  the  preposition,  unless  they  name  the  sacri- 
fice; as  pboyoc,  rr^  apapzca^."^  Owen  has  most  unaccountably 
mistaken  the  facts  in  this  statement.  In  several  of  the  texts 
which  he  enumerates,  it  is  not  the  offering,  but  the  sin,  that  is 
designated  by  apapzia^.  Thus,  Lev.  iv.  35  : — "  And  the  priest 
shall  make  atonement  (nspl  rff,  apapz'taq,  rjc  rjpapze)  for  his  sin 
which  he  has  sinned."  Owen  asserts  that  the  seventy  "  never 
omit  the  preposition,  unless  they  name  the  sacrifice."  "We  have 
already  appealed  to  a  sufficient  number  of  examples, — which 
might  be  multiplied, — to  prove,  that,  so  far  from  being  unex- 
ampled, it  is  a  common  usage,  to  omit  both  the  preposition,  and 
the  name  of  the  sacrifice.  One  of  the  very  texts  enumerated  by 
Owen  disproves  his  assertion.  Lev.  v.  9  : — "  He  shall  sprinkle 
of  the  blood  of  the  sin-offering  upon  the  side  of  the  altar ;  and 
the  rest  of  the  blood  shall  be  wrung  out  at  the  bottom  of  the 
altar,  {apapzia  yap  eazi)  for  it  is  sin."  Wherever  mpc  apapziaz 
has  reference  to  the  offering,  the  preposition  is  introduced  as 
a  connective  between  apapzia,  sin,  and  the  name  of  the  sacrifice, 
either  expressed  or  implied  by  the  use  of  adjectives  and  the 


*  Turrettinus  de  Satisf.  Christi,  Disp.  iv.  \  32. 

\  Owen  on  Justification,  chap.  xvii.     Board  of  Pub.,  page  390. 


sect,  xii.]      PauTs  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  443 

article.  Thus,  Lev.  iv.  3 : — Mbayov  izepl  zr^  S./uaozca;  ;  vi.  30, 
Kal  -dvza  zd  izepl  zv^  duapzia^,  &c.  There  is  no  appearance  of 
such  an  invented  phrase  as  Owen  speaks  of.  The  preposition  is 
only  used  where  the  structure  of  the  language  demands  it. 

Whatever  be  the  conclusion  of  the  reader  on  this  subject,  one 
thing  is  certain, — that  when  it  is  said  that  "  by  one  man  sin  en- 
tered into  the  world,"  that  "in  him  all  sinned,"  and  that  "by 
one  man's  disobedience  many  were  made  sinners,"  a  relation  to 
Adam's  sin  is  indicated,  to  which  that  of  Christ  to  ours  presents 
no  parallel.  On  this  point,  the  remarks  of  Owen  are  conclusive. 
In  reply  to  objections  urged  by  Bellarmine,  he  says : — 

"1.  Nothing  is  more  absolutely  true,  nothing  is  more  sacredly 
or  assuredly  believed  by  us,  than  that  nothing  which  Christ  did 
or  suffered,  nothing  that  he  undertook  or  underwent,  did  or 
could  constitute  him  subjectively,  inherently,  and  thereon  per- 
sonally, a  sinner,  or  guilty  of  any  sin  of  his  own.  To  bear  the 
guilt  or  blame  of  other  men's  faults,  to  be  alienee  culpa?  reus, 
makes  no  man  a  sinner ;  unless  he  did  unwisely  or  irregularly 
undertake  it.  But,  that  Christ  should  admit  of  any  thing  of 
sin  in  himself,  as  it  is  absolutely  inconsistent  with  the  hypo- 
statical  union,  so,  it  would  render  him  unmeet  for  all  other  duties 
of  his  office.  Heb.  vii.  25,  26.  And,  I  confess,  it  hath  always 
seemed  scandalous  unto  me  that  Socinus,  Crellius,  and  Grotius, 
do  grant  that,  in  some  sense,  Christ  offered  for  his  own  sins ; 
and  would  prove  it  from  that  very  place  wherein  it  is  positively 
denied,— Heb.  vii.  27.  This  ought  to  be  sacredly  fixed,  and  not 
a  word  used,  nor  thought  entertained,  of  any  possibility  of  the 
contrary,  upon  any  supposition  whatever. 

"  2.  None  ever  dreamed  of  a  transfusion  or  propagation  of 
sin  from  us  unto  Christ,  such  as  there  was  from  Adam  unto  us. 
For  Adam  was  a  common  person  unto  us ;  we  are  not  so  to 
Christ;  yea,  he  is  so  to  us;  and  the  imputation  of  our  sins  unto 
nim  is  a  singular  act  of  divine  dispensatioii ;  which  no  evil  con- 
secpuence  can  ensue  upon."* 

In  support  of  the  position  that  we  are  not  sinners  in  Adam's 
sin,  Dr.  Hodge  appeals  to  Owen,  with  the  assertion  that,  "  It 

*  Ibid.  Ch.  viii.  p.  226. 


444  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

is  one  of  his  standing  declarations,  '  To  be  alienee  eulpce  reus, 
makes  no  man  a  sinnee.'  "*  Owen's  doctrine  is  true.  But  the 
very  question  at  issue  is,  whether  the  sin  of  Adam  is  to  us 
aliena  culpa,  a  foreign  crime.  What  the  mind  of  that  distin- 
guished divine  was,  on  this  point,  is  apparent  from  the  above 
extract.  The  reader  will  also  observe  how  broad  the  line  which 
Owen  draws  between  our  relation  to  Adam's  sin  and  that  of 
Christ  to  ours. 

Our  author's  exposition  of  the  nineteenth  verse  is  equally 
objectionable  with  that  already  considered.  The  apostle  having, 
in  the  twelfth  verse,  asserted  both  the  condemnation  to  death 
and  its  cause,  recurs,  in  the  eighteenth,  to  this  point,  and  states 
the  former,  in  a  parallel  with  justification: — "As  by  the  offence 
of  one  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemnation,  even  so 
by  the  righteousness  of  one  the  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto 
justification  of  life."  But  here  the  question  arises,  How  is  it 
consistent  with  truth  and  justice  that  many  should  be  condemned 
by  the  offence  of  one ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  many,  who  are 
sinners,  be  justified  by  the  righteousness  of  one  ?  The  apostle 
answers,  It  is  upon  sufficient  grounds.  "  For  as  by  one  man's 
disobedience  many  were  made  sinners,  so  by  the  obedience  of 
one  shall  many  be  made  righteous."  Here  it  is  well  said  by 
Calvin,  "  This  is  not  tautology ;  but  the  necessary  declaration 
of  the  important  truth,  that  the  offence  of  one  man  proves  us  so 
sunk  in  guilt  that  we  cannot  be  innocent.  He  had  before  said 
that  we  were  condemned ;  but,  to  prevent  us  from  daring  to  claim 
innocence  as  our  own,  he  determined  also  to  subjoin  the  univer- 
sal condemnation  of  every  individual  of  the  human  race,  because 
he  is  a  sinner.  When  he  afterwards  declares  that  we  are  made 
righteous  by  the  obedience  of  Christ,  we  hence  infer  that  Christ 
has  procured  righteousness  for  us  because  he  has  satisfied  his 
Father.  Hence  it  follows  that  righteousness  exists  in  Christ  as 
a  quality ;  but  what  is  his  peculiar  property  is  considered  as 
bestowed  on  us  believers,  "f 

By  Dr.  Hodge,  this  view  is  rejected,  and  the  two  verses  are 
represented  as  essentially  the  same  in  their  meaning.  The  only 
*  Hodge,  8vo  ed.  p.  223.  f  Calvin  on  the  Romans,  cli.  v.  19. 


sect,  xii.]     PauTs  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  445 

difference  is  that,  in  the  eighteenth,  the  idea  of  treating  men  as 
sinners  and  as  righteous  is  the  more  prominent;  and,  in  the 
nineteenth,  the  regarding  them  as  such.  "  Yet  it  is  only  a 
greater  ctegree  of  prominency  to  the  one,  and  not  the  exclusion 
of  the  other,  that  is  in  either  case  intended."*  The  only  argu- 
ments by  which  this  view  is  sustained  are  two.  The  first  is  the 
assumption  that  the  phrase  to  "  make  sinners,"  according  to 
scriptural  usage,  merely  means  to  regard  and  treat  as  sinners, 
without  involving  moral  criminality.  This  has  been  sufficiently 
considered.  The  second  consists  in  the  assumption  that  there 
are  but  three  modes  of  interpretation  possible ;  which  the  pro- 
fessor thus  states  : — "  If  the  first  clause  [of  the  nineteenth  verse] 
means  either  that  the  disobedience  of  Adam  was  the  occasion 
of  our  committing  sin,  or  that  it  was  the  cause  of  our  becoming 
inherently  corrupt,  and  on  the  ground  of  these  sins,  or  of  this 
corruption,  being  condemned,  then  must  the  other  clause  mean 
that  the  obedience  of  Christ  is  the  cause  of  our  becoming  holy, 
or  performing  good  works,  on  the  ground  of  which  we  are  justi- 
fied." Rejecting  this,  he  adopts,  as  the  only  alternative,  the 
view  above  presented.  But,  as  we  have  seen,  we  are  not  reduced 
to  such  an  alternative.  As  Adam's  disobedience  made  himself 
a  sinner,  so  did  it  make  all  those  to  be  sinners  who  were  in  him ; 
not  only  as  it  caused  in  them  a  corrupt  and  sinful  nature,  but 
primarily  and  chiefly  as  it  involved  them  in  the  crime  of  the 
apostasy,  by  which  they  were  depraved  and  corrupted.  So, 
Christ's  righteousness  makes  his  people  righteous,  not  only  as  it 
is  in  them  a  sanctifying  principle,  but,  first  and  principally,  and 
to  the  purpose  of  justification,  solely,  as  it  is  a  real  conformity 
to  the  law ;  which  the  free  gift  makes  to  be  truly,  and  in  all 
its  meritorious  preciousness,  theirs.  And  this  is  that  rational 
ground  of  justification  to  which  the  apostle  alludes  when  he 
says,  "  The  free  gift  came  upon  all  men  to  justification ;  for  by 
one  man's  obedience  many  shall  be  made  righteous." 
§  13.  Scope  of  The  scope  of  the  apostle's  argument,  and  the  con- 
the  apostle.  elusions  at  which  he  aims,  seem  to  us  altogether  at 
variance  with  the  interpretation  embraced  by  Dr.  Hodge.     He 

f  Hodge,  pp.  131-132. 


446  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

takes  the  ground  that  Paul  simply  teaches  it  to  be  a  conse- 
quence of  Adam's  sin  that  all  men  are  regarded  and  treated  as 
though  they  had  sinned.  The  apostle  certainly  does,  in  various 
forms,  assert  men  to  be  thus  treated.  "  Death  passed  upon  all 
men."  "Death  reigned  from  Adam  to  Moses."  " Many  be 
dead."  "The  judgment  was  to  condemnation"  upon  all  men. 
Thus,  undoubtedly,  are  we  taught  that  all  are  regarded  and 
treated  as  sinners ;  for  death  is  the  wages  of  sin.  But  is  this 
all  he  teaches  ?  In  view  of  such  an  array  of  facts,  the  question 
arises  in  every  heart,  Why  is  this  treatment?  Dr.  Hodge 
replies,  as  an  interpreter  of  Paul,  It  is  because  they  are 
regarded  and  treated  as  sinners !  A  multitude  are  assembled 
around  the  place  of  execution ;  a  prisoner  is  on  the  scaffold ;  the 
cord  is  adjusted;  the  drop  falls;  and  he  is  launched  into 
eternity.  All  this  is  because  he  is  regarded  and  treated  as  a 
murderer.  But  why  is  he  thus  treated?  Paul  tells  us, — 
"  Death  passed  to  all  men  through  the  one  in  whom  all  sinned ;" 
or,  as  Dr.  Hodge  prefers,  "for  that  all  sinned."  "By  the  dis- 
obedience of  one,  many  were  made  sinners."  Nay,  further,  he 
asserts  "  that  until  the  law  sin  was  in  the  world ;"  and,  if  any 
one  should  question  the  assertion,  plants  himself  upon  the  fact 
that  they  were  treated  as  sinners  by  the  unerring  justice  of 
God.  "Death  reigned;"  and,  therefore,  unquestionably,  they 
over  whom  his  sceptre  was  swayed  must  have  been  sinners. 
Such  is  Paul's  argument. 

It  is  remarkable  that  our  commentator  distinctly  lays  down 
this  very  principle,  and  yet  fails  to  see  the  inevitable  conse- 
quences. "  The  execution  of  the  penalty  of  a  law  cannot  be 
more  extensive  than  its  violation ;  and  consequently,  if  all  are 
subject  to  penal  evils,  all  are  regarded  as  sinners  in  the  sight  of 
God.  This  universality  in  the  infliction  of  penal  evil  cannot  be 
accounted  for  on  the  ground  of  the  violation  of  the  law  of 
Moses,  since  men  were  subject  to  such  evil  before  that  law  was 
given ;  nor  yet  on  account  of  the  violation  of  the  more  general 
law  written  on  the  heart,  since  even  they  are  subject  to  this  evil 
who  have  never  personally  sinned  at  all.  We  must  conclude,  there- 
fore, that  men  are  regarded  and  treated  as  sinners  on  account 


sect,  xiii.]     PauTs  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  447 

of  the  sin  of  Adam."*  Here  the  principle  is  truly  stated,  as 
fundamental  to  the  apostle's  argument,  that  "  the  execution  of 
the  penalty  of  a  law  cannot  be  more  extensive  than  its  violation." 
"  We  conclude  therefore,"  since  all  men  in  Adam  die: — what? — 
That  all  are,  in  him,  violators  of  the  law  ?  "  No,"  says  the 
professor ;  "  Adam's  sin  was  not  personally  or  properly  the  sin 
of  all  men."  But  "we  conclude  that  men  are  regarded  and 
treated  as  sinners  on  account  of  the  sin  of  Adam."  Can  any 
thing  be  more  plain  than  the  discrepancy  between  the  propo- 
sition and  the  inference  here  stated  ?  "  The  execution  of  the 
penalty  of  a  law  cannot  be  more  extensive  than  its  violation ;" 
therefore  the  penalty  is  executed  on  the  posterity  of  Adam, 
although  they  are  not  violators  of  the  law  under  the  curse  of 
which  they  suffer !  In  fact,  the  major  premise  is  precisely 
equivalent  to  saying  that  men  cannot  be  regarded  and  treated 
as  sinners  unless  they  are  so.  This,  indeed,  is  true ;  and  is  the 
doctrine  of  the  apostle.  But  how  is  it  to  be  reconciled  with  the 
interpretation  before  us  ? 

The  parallel  which  Paul  draws  between  Adam  and  Christ,  is 
irreconcilable  with  the  doctrine  set  forth  by  our  expositor.  That 
parallel,  as  we  have  already  seen,  is  stated  distinctly,  in  its  several 
a  u.  Parallel  elements,  with  the  points  of  difference  denned. 
of  Adam  and  Briefly,  to  our  present  purpose,  it  comprehends 
Christ.  .Qie  f0!iowing  points.    Through  Adam,  death  flows  to 

all  his  seed ;  through  Christ,  the  gift,  eternal  life.  (v.  12-15 ; 
eh.  vi.  23.)  This  death,  in  Adam,  results  from  a  judicial  sen- 
tence of  condemnation;  and  the  life  in  Christ,  from  one  of  justi- 
fication, (v.  18.)  The  ground  of  these  sentences,  Paul  states 
distinctly,  introducing  it  by  the  particle  "for,"  expressive  of  the 
judicial  reasons  of  the  proceeding  thus  stated.  "For  as  by  one 
man's  disobedience  many  were  made  sinners,  so  by  the  obedience 
of  one  shall  many  be  made  righteous."  All  this  implies  a  real 
and  substantial  union  between  these  several  heads  and  their  re- 
presentative bodies,  which,  accordingly,  the  apostle  asserts. 
"Adam,  in  whom  all  sinned." — v.  12.  "In  Adam  all  die." — 1 
Cor.  xv.  22.     "  There  is  no  condemnation  to  them  which  are  in 

*  Hodge,  p.  133. 

^8 


448  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

Christ  Jesus." — Rom.  viii.  1.  Dr.  H.  denies  any  "mysterious 
oneness"  between  us  and  Adam,  by  which  his  sin  is  really  and 
criminally  ours.  By  parity  of  reasoning,  a  similar  denial 
should  be  made  in  the  case  of  Christ  and  his  people.  But, 
here,  the  professor  takes  the  opposite  position: — "To  be  in 
Christ  Jesus  signifies  to  be  intimately  united  to  him  in  the  way 
in  which  the  Scriptures  teach  us  this  union  is  effected,  viz.,  by 
haviDg  his  Spirit  dwelling  in  us.  The  phrase  is  never  expressive 
of  a  merely  external  or  nominal  union."*  Thus  we  are  justified, 
not  by  Christ's  righteousness  extrinsic  to  us  and  only  nominally 
ours,  but  the  "  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath 
made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death." — Bom.  viii.  1,  2. 
The  power  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  was  the  law  or  principle  of 
holiness  in  him,  the  cause  of  the  righteousness  of  the  Mediator ; 
and  that  Spirit,  given  to  us,  and  uniting  us  to  him,  conveys  a 
title  in  that  righteousness  thus  wrought  in  him.  Thus  are 
we  made  righteous,  not  only  as  we  are  created  unto  holiness,  nor 
by  a  constructive  process  merely ;  but  by  a  real  property  in  the 
righteousness  of  our  Head.  But  all  this  involves  the  conclu- 
sion that  owx  inbeing  in  Adam,  the  type  of  Christ,  is  neither 
external  nor  nominal,  any  more  than  is  the  other.  As,  in  Christ, 
we  are  really  endowed  with  his  righteousness,  and  in  it  are  jus- 
tified ;  so,  in  Adam,  we  are  truly  sinners,  and,  therefore,  justly 
condemned. 

It  is  objected,  that  this  would  imply  that  the  righteousness  of 
Christ  is  a  proper  ground  of  self-complacency,  in  those  to  whom 
#  15.  Compia-  it  is  imputed,  f  The  phrase  is  ambiguous,  as  we 
cency  in  Christs     shall  presently  see.     But  surely  that  righteousness 

righteousness.  -.  „....  -,-.  -,,  , 

loses  none  of  its  intrinsic  exceiience  and  glory  by 
reason  of  its  bestowal  upon  me.  Nor,  because  it  is  mine,  is  it 
any  the  less  my  privilege  and  duty  to  admire  and  boast  of  it. 
To  look  upon  it  and  feel  respecting  it  as  if  it  were  foreign  to  me, 
when  in  fact  it  is  upon  me,  and  belongs  to  me  by  the  indwelling 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  making  me  a  member  of  Christ,  is  so  far 
from  a  becoming  humility,  that  it  would  be  believing  a  lie,  to  the 
great  injury  of  the  soul.     There  are  two  selves  in  the  believer, — 

*  Ibid.  p.  181.  t  Ibid-  P-  135- 


sect,  xiv.]     Paul's  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  449 

the  old  man,  and  the  new.  The  one  is  his  nature  as  received 
from  Adam;  by  virtue  of  which  he  has  communion  in  Adam. 
The  other  is  that  new  nature  received  from  Christ,  by  which  he 
is  a  member  of  Christ's  glorious  body.  If  the  believer  views 
himself  aright,  it  must  always  be  as  thus  truly  one  with  Christ, 
a  member  of  the  body,  a  branch  of  the  vine;  and  thus  endowed 
with  an  essential  and  indefeasible  property  in  the  righteousness 
of  the  Head.  To  cherish  a  complacency  in  respect  to  that  right- 
eousness, as  if  it  were  a  private  and  several  property,  would 
indeed  be  to  trust  in  a  lie.  So  it  would  be  a  false  and  impossible 
remorse,  which  should  assume  the  apostasy  of  Adam  to  be  a 
private,  several  and  personal  sin  of  the  several  posterity  of 
Adam,  instead  of  being  common  and  native.  But,  on  the  con- 
trary, in  both  instances,  the  proper  exercises  of  the  soul  are 
indicated,  by  the  fact  of  our  real  and  substantial  communion  in 
the  nature  that  sinned,  and  in  that  which  wrought  the  right- 
eousness, in  which  we  are  justified.  That  this  does  imply  and 
require  complacence  in  that  which  thus  by  grace  we  are,  it  will 
hardly  be  necessary  to  prove.  "In  the  Lord  shall  all  the  seed 
of  Israel  be  justified,  and  shall  glory." — Isa.  xlv.  25.  Paul 
says,  "I  knew  a  man  in  Christ  about  fourteen  years  ago,  .  .  . 
caught  up  into  paradise,  and  heard  unspeakable  words,  which  it 
is  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  utter.  Of  such  a  one  will  I  glory ; 
yet  of  myself  I  will  not  glory,  but  in  mine  infirmities." — 2  Cor. 
xii.  2-5.  Listen,  too,  to  the  departing  song  of  the  same  apostle, 
who  was  privileged  with  this  heavenly  vision: — "I  am  now 
ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  I 
have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept 
the  faith.  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  right- 
eousness, which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall  give  me  at 
that  day." — 2  Tim.  iv.  6-8.  So  the  beloved  disciple  exhorts  us : — 
"Little  children,  abide  in  him,  that  when  he  shall  appear  we 
may  have  confidence,  and  not  be  ashamed  before  him  at  his 
coming." — 1  John  ii.  28.  The,  child  of  God  may  not  cherish 
self-complacency;  if,  by  that  phrase,  is  meant,  a  confidence  in 
the  flesh.  But  it  is  not  only  his  privilege,  but  his  duty,  to  cherish 
a  complacence  in  that  which  by  grace  he  is.     This,  in  fact,  is 

29 


450  The  Elohlm  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

essential  to  true  humility.  The  opposite  is  not  grace,  but  ingra- 
titude. Here,  however,  let  it  also  be  considered,  that,  if  glory- 
ing in  Christ  is  our  duty  and  privilege,  much  more  does  it  become 
us  to  bewail  with  contrite  penitence  our  apostasy  in  Adam.  As 
we  have  seen,  we  are  natively  and  intrinsically  in  Adam;  but, 
in  the  second  Adam,  altogether  supernaturally,  and  by  special 
grace. 

The  interpretation  here  considered  is  further  exceptionable,  as 
it  ignores  and,  in  a  great  measure,  obliterates  a  fundamental 
g  16.  Relation  idea,  which  runs  through  the  entire  argument  of 
of  Ms  theory  the  apostle.  It  is,  that  the  deed  of  Adam  was  not 
to  the  fail.  on|y  an  ac£  Q£  transgression,  but  an  apostasy  and 
depravation  of  the  whole  nature, — not  of  the  individual  Adam, 
but,  of  man.  That  this  is  Paul's  doctrine,  we  have  already  seen. 
He  carefully  discriminates  between  the  personal  act  of  Adam, 
and  the  radical  evil,  which  was  involved  in  it.  The  former,  he 
calls,  "the  offence,"  "the  transgression,"  "the  disobedience." 
The  latter,  he  designates  by  one  word, — sin;  and  the  manner  in 
which  that  noun,  and  the  verb,  to  sin,  are  used  by  him,  in  the 
whole  closely  connected  argument  of  this  and  the  following 
chapters,  leaves  no  room  to  doubt  what  he  means  by  it.  It  can 
scarcely  be  questioned,  that  the  word  means  the  same  thing, 
throughout  the  entire  connection.  And  it  is  not  possible  to 
deny,  that,  in  the  latter  part  of  it,  the  thing  meant  is  that  in- 
dwelling depravity,  which  "is  enmity  against  Grod,"  (viii.  7), 
which  wields  a  dominating  power  over  the  unregenerate,  is  the 
cause  of  all  actual  sin,  (vii.  5),  and  involves  those  in  whom  it 
dwells  in  God's  inevitable  and  righteous  curse.  Yet,  scarcely 
does  Dr.  Hodge  find  allusion  to  the  entrance  of  depravity  in 
verse  12,  nor  any  recognition  of  its  presence,  in  the  chapter. 
His  only  remark,  on  the  subject,  is,  that  "it  is  probable  Paul 
meant  to  express,  in  the  first  instance,  [in  the  twelfth  verse,] 
the  general  idea,  that  all  men  fell  in  Adam;  which  includes  the 
idea  both  of  loss  of  holiness,  and  of  subjection  to  the  penal  con- 
sequences of  sin.  It  will  appear,  however,  in  the  sequel,  that 
the  latter  is  altogether  the  more  prominent  idea."*    So  little  in- 

*  Hodge,  p.  116. 


sect,  xv.]       Paul's  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  451 

fluence  does  he  allow  the  former  idea,  that,  with  this  hint,  it  is 
dismissed;  and  the  discussion  of  the  rest  of  the  chapter  pro- 
ceeds upon  the  supposition  that  all  which  is  in  the  apostle's 
mind  is  an  hereditary  punishment,  to  which,  in  consequence  of 
Adam's  sin,  we,  although  not  morally  chargeable  with  that  sin, 
are  exposed. 

But  we  will  not  further  insist  on  these  and  other  points,  which 
might  be  mentioned.  Enough,  we  trust,  has  been  presented,  to 
justify  the  conclusion,  that  the  learned  and  excellent  com- 
mentator has  taken  a  mistaken  view  of  the  passage  in  question ; 
and  that  the  old  interpretation  is  to  be  preferred. 

Having  shown  the  power  of  Christ's  gospel  to  justify,  alike 
from  the  guilt  of  Adam's  apostasy  and  that  of  a  depraved  nature 
1 17.  Chap,  and  actual  sins  thence  resulting,  the  apostle  proceeds 
ter  vi-  in  the  sixth  chapter  to  display  its  power  in  eradi- 

cating the  depravity, — in  removing  the  principle  of  apostasy,  from 
the  heart.  He  introduces  this  subject  by  raising  a  question 
which  naturally  suggests  itself: — "If  it  be  so  that  the  abound- 
ing of  sin  has  given  occasion  to  grace  to  abound,  in  freeing  men 
from  its  curse,  shall  we  not  continue  in  sin,  that  grace  may  yet 
more  and  more  abound  ?"  The  answer  to  this  question  gives 
occasion  to  the  unfolding  of  the  nature  and  extent  of  man's 
native  bondage  to  depravity,  which  involves  a  necessity  of 
sanctifying  power  in  the  salvation  of  Christ,  as  the  curse  in- 
curred renders  necessary  a  righteousness  for  justification.  In 
the  beginning  of  the  sixth  chapter,  he  shows  that  such  is  the 
manner  in  which  an  interest  in  the  salvation  is  imparted,  that 
the  continuance  of  a  love  of  sin  in  the  heart  of  the  Christian  is  a 
contradiction  in  terms.  Ch.  vi. : — ul  What  shall  we  then  say? 
Shall  we  continue  in  sin,  that  grace  may  abound  ?  2  God  forbid : 
How  shall  we,  that  are  dead  to  sin,  live  any  longer  therein  ?" 
He  then  appeals  to  the  nature  of  regeneration,  in  which  "  by 
one  Spirit  we  all  are  baptized  into  one  body, — the  body  of 
Christ, — and  have  been  all  made  to  drink  into  one  Spirit." — 
1  Cor.  xii.  12,  13,  27.  "  3  Know  ye  not  that  so  many  of  us  as 
were  baptized  into  Jesus  Christ  were  baptized  into  his  death  ? 
4  Therefore  we  are  buried  with  him  by  baptism  into  death;" — 


452  The  Elolum  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

and  the  design  of  this  is  our  deliverance,  not  from  the  curse 
only,  but  from  the  power  of  sin, — "that  like  as  Christ  was 
raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father,  even  so  we 
also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life.  5  For  if  we  have  been  joined 
with  him  in  the  likeness  of  his  death,  we  shall  be  also  in  the 
likeness  of  his  resurrection  :  6  Knowing  this,  that  our  old  man" — 
our  depraved  nature,  received  from  the  first  Adam — "  is  cruci- 
fied with  him," — hostility  to  it  was  the  motive,  its  guilt  the 
cause,  and  its  destruction  the  design  of  his  death  on  the  cross  ; 
and  if  we  be  united  to  him  we  acquire  his  mind  of  hostility  to 
it,  and  a  right  to  and  interest  in  his  redemption  from  it, — "that 
the  body  of  sin" — the  incorporated  system  of  corrupt  disposi- 
tions— "might  be  destroyed,  that  henceforth  we  should  not 
serve  sin.  7  For  he  that  is  dead  is  freed  from  sin."  He  that 
by  baptism  into  Christ's  death  is  dead  with  him,  is  free  from 
the  dominion  of  corruption.  "8  Now  if  we  be  [thus]  dead  with 
Christ,  we  believe  that  we  shall  also  live  with  him ;  9  Knowing 
that  Christ,  being  raised  from  the  dead,  dieth  no  more ;  death 
hath  no  more  dominion  over  him.  10  For  in  that  he  died,  he 
died  unto  sin  once ;  but  in  that  he  liveth,  he  liveth  unto  God. 
11  Likewise  reckon  ye  also  yourselves  to  be  dead  indeed  unto 
sin,  but  alive  unto  God  (iv  Xpc^aJ  ' '  lrtai7)  in  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord." 

Paul  then  urges  the  saints  that  they  should  resist  and  subdue 
the  dominating  power  of  sin  within,  as  they  are  thus  bought 
with  a  price,  and  called  to  holiness  : — "  12  Let  not  sin  therefore 
reign  in  your  mortal  body,  that  ye  should  obey  it  in  the  lusts 
thereof.  13  Neither  yield  ye  your  members  as  instruments  of 
unrighteousness  unto  sin ;  but  yield  yourselves  unto  God,  as 
those  that  are  alive  from  the  dead,  and  your  members  as  instru- 
ments of  righteousness  unto  God :  14  For  sin  shall  not  have  do- 
minion over  you:  for  ye  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace." 
If  you  are  indeed  alive  unto  God,  submit  not  to  those  lusts  which 
incur  death,  and  use  as  their  instrument  that  body  which  is 
doomed  to  dissolution  and  must  soon  crumble  to  dust.  "  Neither 
yield  ye  your  members  to  sin,  as  instruments  of  unrighteousness : 
but  yield  yourselves  to  God,  as  those  that  are  alive  from  the 


sect,  xvii.]     Paul's  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  453 

dead,  and  your  members  to  God,  as  instruments  of  righteousness. 
For  sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  you :  for  ye  are  not  under 
the  law,  but  under  grace." 

Here  again  arises  a  similar  question  to  that  which  was  pro- 
posed at  the  beginning  of  the  chapter  : — If  we  are  free  from  the 
law,  then  may  we  not  sin  with  impunity  ?  " 15  "What  then  ? 
shall  we  sin,  because  we  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace  ? 
God  forbid!"  For  this  would  be  to  make  your  liberty  an  oppor- 
tunity for  selling  yourselves  into  a  most  degrading  bondage. 
" 16  Know  ye  not,  that  to  whom  ye  yield  yourselves  servants  to 
obey,  his  servants  ye  are  to  whom  ye  obey ;  whether  of  sin  unto 
death,  or  of  obedience  unto  righteousness  ?  17  But  God  be 
thanked,  that  ye  were  the  servants  of  sin ;  but  ye  have  obeyed 
from  the  heart  that  form  of  doctrine  which  was  delivered  you. 
18  Being  then  made  free  from  sin,  ye  became  the  servants  of 
righteousness."  He  therefore  exhorts  them  that  as  they  have 
formerly  yielded  their  members  servants  to  uncleanness  and 
iniquity,  to  the  working  of  iniquity,  so  now  they  should  yield 
their  members  to  what  the  infirmity  of  their  flesh  constrains 
him  to  illustrate  by  calling  it  a  servitude  to  holiness,  though  it 
is  the  noblest  liberty.  This  persuasion  he  further  urges  by  an 
appeal  to  the  results  which  flow  severally  from  the  two  alterna- 
tives,— from  the  one,  death;  from  the  other,  eternal  life : — " 19  I 
speak  after  the  manner  of  men,  because  of  the  infirmity  of  your 
flesh :  for  as  ye  have  yielded  your  members  servants  to  unclean- 
ness and  to  iniquity  unto  iniquity ;  even  so  now  yield  your 
members  servants  to  righteousness,  unto  holiness.  20  For  when 
ye  were  the  servants  of  sin,  ye  were  free  from  righteousness. 
21  AVhat  fruit  had  ye  then  in  those  things  whereof  ye  are  now 
ashamed  ?  for  the  end  of  those  things  is  death.  22  But  now 
being  made  free  from  sin,  and  become  servants  to  God,  ye  have 
your  fruit  unto  holiness,  and  the  end  everlasting  life.  23  For 
the  wages  of  sin  is  death :  but  the  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 

§  is.  Chap-  The  apostle  then,  in  the  seventh  chapter,  illus- 

tervii.  trates  the  emancipation  from  the  law,  of  which  he 

has  discoursed,  by  reference  to  the  marriage  tie,  which  only  holds 


454  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

for  life;  beyond  which  the  authority  of  the  relation  ceases. 
So  the  people  of  Christ, — once  married  to  the  law, — being  united 
to  him,  become  interested  in  that  death,  by  which  he  exhausted 
the  law's  demands,  and  escaped  from  its  authority.  They  are 
therefore  now  dead  to  the  law, — free  from  its  chains;  and  at 
liberty  to  join  themselves  to  Christ  for  sanctification.  Chap.  vii. 
" x  Know  ye  not,  brethren,  (for  I  speak  to  them  that  know  the 
law,)  how  that  the  law  hath  dominion  over  a  man  as  long  as  he 
liveth?  2  For  the  woman  which  hath  an  husband,  is  bound  by 
the  law  to  her  husband  so  long  as  he  liveth ;  but  if  the  husband 
be  dead,  she  is  loosed  from  the  law  of  her  husband.  3  So  then, 
if  while  her  husband  liveth  she  be  married  to  another  man,  she 
shall  be  called  an  adulteress :  but  if  her  husband  be  dead,  she  is 
free  from  that  law;  so  that  she  is  no  adulteress,  though  she  be 
married  to  another  man.  4  "Wherefore,  my  brethren,  ye  also  are 
become  dead  to  the  law  by  the  body  of  Christ;  that  ye  should 
be  married  to  another,  even  to  him  who  is  raised  from  the  dead, 
that  we  should  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God."  His  Spirit,  dwell- 
ing and  ruling  within,  the  result  must  needs  be  the  fruit 
of  the  Spirit.  To  understand  the  precise  force  of  the  illus- 
tration here  employed,  two  or  three  things  must  be  noticed. 
The  apostle,  having  developed  the  fact  that  the  first  man,  Adam, 
was  he  by  whom  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  the  second 
Adam  he  by  whom  came  righteousness,  assumes,  as  an  element 
of  his  argument,  the  doctrine  of  Christ  to  Nicodemus,  "that 
which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh,  and  that  which  is  born  of  the 
Spirit  is  spirit." — John  iii.  6.  The  "flesh"  thus  derived  by  birth 
from  Adam  he  otherwise  designates  as  "the  old  man;"  by  both 
of  these  expressions  indicating  its  derivation  from  Adam,  and, 
through  it,  our  identity  in  him.  It  is  also  called  "the  body  of 
sin;"  and  the  principle  which  prevails  in  and  through  it  is  de- 
signated as  "the  law  in  the  members,"  and  "the  law  of  sin  and 
death."  On  the  other  hand,  the  new  nature,  which  is  implanted 
by  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  is  variously  designated,  as  "the  new 
man,"  "the  inward  man,"  "the  spirit,"  and  "I  myself;"  and  its 
controlling  influence  is  called  "the  law  of  the  mind,"  and  "the 
law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus."     Thus,  in  the  conti- 


sect,  xvii.]    Paul's  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  455 

nuous  life  of  the  same  individual,  does  the  apostle  describe  two 
distinct  and  successive  identities, — the  old  man  and  the  new. 
The  old  man  is  married  to  the  law,  and  so  holds  natural  men 
under  its  bonds,  working  in  their  members  to  bring  forth  fruit 
unto  death.  In  the  regenerate,  this  old  man,  being  crucified 
with  Christ,  (ch.  vi.  6,)  is  dead.  But  it  was  only  through  it, 
as  married  to  the  law,  that  they  were  ever  subject  to  the  law's 
bondage.  Hence,  "that  being  dead  wherein  they  were  held," 
the  death  of  the  party  dissolves  the  bond;  and  they  in  whom 
the  old  man  once  dwelt,  through  which  the  bondage  was  upon 
them,  are  thus  delivered  from  the  law;  and  are  married  to 
Christ.  The  consequence  is,  that  the  law  no  longer  exerts  over 
them  its  irritating  power,  to  the  arousing  of  sin  into  activity. 
" 5  For  when  we  were  in  the  flesh,  the  motions  of  sins,  which  were 
by  the  law,  did  work  in  our  members  to  bring  forth  fruit  unto 
death :  6  But  now  we  are  delivered  from  the  law,  that  being  dead 
wherein  we  were  held;  that  we  should  serve  in  newness  of  spirit, 
and  not  in  the  oldness  of  the  letter." 

The  apostle  then  shows,  that  all  this  implies  no  disparagement 
to  the  law ;  that,  on  the  contrary,  the  law  is  of  essential  import- 
ance, even  as  auxiliary  to  the  gospel ;  serving  as  a  schoolmaster, 
to  bring  us  to  Christ.  This  it  does,  by  uncovering  and  detecting 
indwelling  sin.  For  such  is  the  deceitfulness  of  sin,  that  it  lies 
concealed  in  the  heart,  until  thus  discovered.  " 7  What  shall  we 
say  then?  Is  the  law  sin?  God  forbid.  Nay,  I  had  not  known 
sin,  but  by  the  law :  for  I  had  not  known  lust,  except  the  law 
had  said,  Thou  shalt  not  covet.  8  But  sin,  taking  occasion  by 
the  commandment,  wrought  in  me  all  manner  of  concupiscence. 
For  without  the  law  sin  was  dead.  9  For  I  was  alive  without 
the  law  once :  but  when  the  commandment  came,  sin  revived,  and 
I  died.  10  And  the  commandment  which  was  ordained  to  life,  I 
found  to  be  unto  death.  "  For  sin,  taking  occasion  by  the  com- 
mandment, deceived  me,  and  by  it  slew  me.  12  Wherefore  the 
law  is  holy,  and  the  commandment  holy,  and  just,  and  good. 
13  Was  then  that  which  is  good  made  death  unto  me  ?  God  for- 
bid. But  sin,  that  it  might  appear  sin,  working  death  in  me  by 
that  which  is  good ;  that  sin  by  the  commandment  might  become 


456  The  Elolum  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

exceeding  sinful."  This,  as  applying  to  the  conversion  and  sanc- 
tification  of  every  believer,  Paul  illustrates  by  his  own  example, 
through  the  rest  of  the  chapter.  He  shows  indwelling  sin  to 
be  a  law  or  principle  of  depravity,  which  resists  the  power  of 
grace, — prevents  conformity  to  the  holy  law,  in  which  the  heart 
of  the  Christian  delights, — works  deeds  of  transgression, — shows 
itself  in  its  true  colours,  as  sin,  working  death,  by  occasion  of 
the  presence  of  a  good  and  holy  law, — and  induces  intense  dis- 
tress in  the  heart  of  the  child  of  God,  by  the  conflict  between 
holy  and  unholy  principles,  thus  occurring; — a  conflict  from 
which  there  is  no  hope  of  deliverance,  except  by  the  power  of 
Christ's  Spirit,  destroying  utterly  the  body  of  sin.  "  "  For  we 
know  that  the  law  is  spiritual :  but  I  am  carnal,  sold  unto  sin. 
15  For  that  which  I  do,  I  allow  not;  for  what  I  would,  that  do  I 
not ;  but  what  I  hate,  that  do  I.  16  If  then  I  do  that  which  I 
would  not,  I  consent  unto  the  law  that  it  is  good.  17  Now  then 
it  is  no  more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin  that  dwelleth  in  me.  18  For  I 
know  that  in  me  (that  is,  in  my  flesh)  dwelleth  no  good  thing : 
for  to  will  is  present  with  me;  but  how  to  perform  that  which  is 
good  I  find  not.  19  For  the  good  that  I  would,  I  do  not;  but  the 
evil  which  I  would  not,  that  I  do.  20  Now  if  I  do  that  I  would 
not,  it  is  no  more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin  that  dwelleth  in  me.  2l  I 
find  then  a  law,  that  when  I  would  do  good,  evil  is  present  with 
me.  22  For  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God,  after  the  inward  man : 
23  But  I  see  another  law  in  my  members,  warring  against  the  law 
of  my  mind,  and  bringing  me  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin 
which  is  in  my  members.  2i  0  wretched  man  that  I  am !  who 
shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ?  25  I  thank  God, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  So  then,  with  the  mind  I  my- 
self serve  the  law  of  God;  but  with  the  flesh  the  law  of  sin." 
"0  wretched  man  that  I  am!  who  shall  deliver  me?" — Thus,  in 
anguish  of  spirit,  the  apostle  looks  to  the  law;  but  it  offers  no 
remedy.  In  his  despair,  his  eye  falls  upon  the  cross,  and  his  cry 
of  distress  is  changed  to  exultant  strains  of  thanksgiving  and 
praise: — "I  thank  God,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  In 
him  is  deliverance  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  as  well  as  from  the 
terror  of  the  curse. 


sect,  xviii.]    Paul's  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  457 

In  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  chapter,  the  conclusions 
flowing  from  the  whole  argument  are  rapidly  summed  up. 
Paul  announces  justification: — "There  is  now  no  condemna- 
tion." The  ground  of  it  is  inbeing  in  Christ;  the  proof  and 
consequence  of  which  is  holy  living,  (v.  1).  That  this  is  so, 
results  from  the  activity  of  a  new  principle, — "the  law  of  the 
Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus,"  by  which  believers  are  freed 
from  the  prevailing  power — the  law,  of  sin  and  death,  (v.  2). 
Thus,  that  deliverance  from  the  power  of  depravity,  which 
confessedly  the  law  never  could  accomplish,  is  wrought  by 
Christ, — by  his  example  and  sufferings  condemning  sin,  and 
by  his  Spirit  freeing  his  people  from  it.  The  result  is,  that  the 
world  is  divided  into  two,  and  but  two,  classes ; — not  Jews  and 
Gentiles;  but  those  who  are  in  the  flesh,  in  their  natural  state, 
as  children  of  Adam;  in  whom  the  offence  reigns;  whose  hearts 
are  enmity  against  God  and  his  law;  and  who  are  consequently 
under  the  curse; — and  those  wrho  are  Christ's;  in  whom  his 
Spirit  dwells;  who  consequently  are  sons  of  God,  live  in  holi- 
ness, are  free  from  the  curse,  and  heirs  of  immortality. 

In  the  argument  of  the  apostle,  at  which  we  have  thus  taken 
a  rapid  glance,  the  following  points  bear  upon  our  inquiry. 

1.  He  describes  sin  as  a  law,  existing  natively  in  the  souls  of 
the  posterity  of  Adam.  A  law  is  a  controlling  principle,  which 
,  ,„  m,    ,        has  within  itself  the  cause  of  its  efficiency.     Thus,  a 

£  19.  The  doc-  J  ' 

trine.  Sin,  an  preceptive  law  is  "a  mandate  of  some  person  or 
indwelling  power,  whose  precept  carries  with  it  the  reason  of 
obedience,"* — that  is,  the  authority  of  the  lawgiver; 
the  law  of  gravitation  is  a  principle  in  bodies,  which  is  in  itself 
the  cause  of  their  tending  toward  each  other.  So,  by  the  apostle, 
the  word  is  used  in  several  applications,  but  always  in  the  same 
sense.  He  speaks  of  the  law  of  God, — meaning  that  holy,  just 
and  good  commandment,  which  has  in  it  the  divine  authority 
as  the  cause  of  its  dominion.  He  mentions  a  "law  of  his  mind," 
(vii.  23),  which  he  otherwise  calls  "the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life 
in  Christ  Jesus,"  (viii.  2),  which  is  nothing  else  than  the  omni- 
potent power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  dwelling  in,  ruling  and  sancti- 
*  Chambers's  Dictionary  of  Arts  and  Sciences. 


458  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

fying  believers.  As  opposed  to  this,  lie  describes  "a  law  in  his 
members;"  which  he  further  characterizes  as  "a  law  of  sin," 
(vii.  23),  and,  again,  as  "a  law  of  sin  and  death,"  (viii.  2).  This 
he  represents  as  exerting  such  a  power,  that  when  he  would  do 
good,  evil  is  present  with  him,  (vii.  21), — an  energy  which 
brings  him  into  a  captivity  so  absolute  and  helpless  as  to 
extort  from  him  the  anguished  cry,  "0  wretched  man  that  I 
am!  who  shall  deliver  me?" — to  which  he  finds  no  response 
of  hope  but  in  the  omnipotent  power  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ, 
(vii.  25;  viii.  2,  4,  9,  10). 

Sin  is,  in  other  terms,  described  as  a  dominating  power,  which 
is  absolute  in  the  unregenerate,  and  active  in  Christians.  Thus 
the  apostle  asserts  the  design  of  Christ's  death  to  be  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  dominion  of  sin  in  his  people: — "that  henceforth  we 
should  not  serve  sin,"  (vi.  6).  He  declares  that  they  once  "were 
the  servants  of  sin,"  (vi.  17,  20);  accuses  himself  as  being,  in 
respect  to  his  carnal  nature,  his  original  condition,  "sold  under 
sin," — into  a  bondage,  which,  even  in  his  renewed  state,  was 
only  broken, — not  destroyed.  He  predicates  his  entire  argument 
upon  this  view.  In  consequence  of  the  antagonism  between  this 
active  and  domineering  principle  of  sin,  and  the  principle  of 
grace,  in  the  believer,  he  describes  a  conflict  going  on  in  his 
heart,  in  which  there  are  two  wills  opposed  inveterately  to  each 
other;  and  two  sets  of  actions  result.  The  new  nature — "the 
mind" — is  conformed  to  the  law  of  God.  But  his  natural  affec- 
tions and  dispositions  bow  to  the  law  of  sin ;  so  that  when  he 
would  do  good,  evil  is  present  with  him;  (vii.  21-25). 

2.  That  of  which  the  apostle  speaks,  is,  not  acts  of  sin,  but,  a 
principle  in  the  soul;  which  he  calls,  sin,  and  which  is  the  efficient 
cause  of  actual  transgressions.  It  is  represented  as  the  "old 
man,"  invested  with  a  "  body,"  (vi.  6),  and  endowed  with  appetites 
and  affections : — "Let  not  sin  reign,  that  ye  should  obey  it  in  the 
desires  thereof." — vi.  12.  "  When  we  were  in  the  flesh,  the  motions 
(TTadyfiaza,  the  affections,  emotions,  passions)  of  sins  did  work  in 
our  members  to  bring  forth  fruit  unto  death." — vii.  5.  The  saints 
are  exhorted  that  they  should  "not  yield  their  members  to  sin,  as 
instruments  of  unrighteousness." — vi.  13.  Thus,  sin  is  represented 


sect,  xviii.]  Paul's  Discussion  of  Original  Sin.  459 

as  an  agent,  using  the  members  of  the  body  as  instruments  with 
which  to  work  unrighteousness ;  and  that,  in  contrast  with  God, 
using  the  same  instruments,  to  work  righteousness.  The  same 
form  of  expression  is  repeated  in  verse  19: — "For  as  ye  have 
yielded  your  members  servants  to  uncleanness  and  iniquity,  unto 
the  working  of  iniquity,  even  so  yield  ye  your  members  servants 
to  righteousness,  unto  works  of  holiness."  So,  "sin  wrought  in 
Paul  all  manner  of  concupiscence." — vii.  8.  It  deceived  him 
and  slew  him,  (vii.  11).  And  when  he  states  of  himself, — "that 
which  I  do  I  allow  not:  for  what  I  would,  that  do  I  not;  but 
what  I  hate,  that  do  I;" — he  concludes  that  it  is  not  he  that 
doeth  it,  but  sin  that  dwelleth  in  him;  (vs.  15,  17,  20). 

3.  This  principle  of  sin  is  native  in  man,  and  pervasive  of  his 
being.  It  is  the  old  man,  the  body  of  sin,  (vi.  6).  It  is  the 
characteristic  of  those  who  are  in  the  flesh,  (vii.  5), — of  those  who 
are  not  renewed  by  the  Holy  Spirit;  (viii.  2-5,  9).  Its  essential 
characteristic — in  which  all  its  evil  and  enormity  consists — is 
the  fact  that  it  is  enmity  against  God,  and  therefore  hostile  to 
the  law,  (viii.  7),  and,  as  such,  the  efficient  cause  of  transgres- 
sions, (vii.  7-15). 

4.  The  whole  argument  of  the  apostle  is  to  the  effect  that  the 
great  end  had  in  view,  in  the  whole  work  of  Christ,  was  the 
destruction  of  this  body  of  sin,  the  eradication  of  this  carnal 
nature,  (vi.  6-18,  &c.) ;  and  that  the  only  efficiency  which  is 
adequate  to  accomplish  this  object  is  that  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ, 
exerting  a  regenerating  power,  to  the  creation  of  a  new  prin- 
ciple of  holiness,  by  the  operation  of  which  the  old  man — the 
principle  of  sin,  derived  by  generation — will  be  destroyed ;  (viii. 
2,  9-14). 

One  additional  point  we  may  not  fail  to  insist  upon,  in  our 
analysis  of  this  most  important  part  of  the  word  of  God.  It  is, 
1 20.  iu  origin  the  relation  which  the  whole  exhibition  of  the 
in  Mam.  apostle   indicates    between    the   offence,  which   he 

designates  in  the  fifth  chapter,  and  the  sin,  which  he  describes 
in  those  which  follow.  In  the  fifth  chapter,  from  the  twelfth 
to  the  nineteenth  verses,  he  describes  the  offence  in  terms  which, 
as  -ye  b3v?  seen,  determine  it,  unequivocally,  to  be  the  first  sin 


460  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xiv. 

of  Adam,  the  apostasy.  Of  this  sin,  lie  then  says,  that  "  the 
law  entered  that  the  offence  might  abound.  But  where  sin 
abounded,  grace  did  much  more  abound:  that  as  sin  hath 
reigned  unto  death,  even  so  might  grace  reign  through  right- 
eousness unto  eternal  life,  by  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." — v.  20,  21. 
It  is  in  view  of  the  case  thus  presented, — the  offence  abounding 
by  virtue  of  the  presence  of  the  law,  but  grace  triumphant  over 
its  curse, — tljat  he  opens  the  discussion  of  the  sixth  and  seventh 
chapters  with  the  question,  "Shall  we  continue  in  sin,  that 
grace  may  abound  ?"  As  already  hinted,  the  only  way  in  which 
the  offence  could  abound  is,  as  being  a  principle  of  sin,  bringing 
forth  fruit  in  acts  of  disobedience,  after  Adam's  example.  The 
offence  of  Adam  had  in  it  two  distinct  aspects,  in  which  it  may 
be  viewed;  to  wit,  the  assumption  of  an  attitude  hostile  to  God; 
and,  the  hostile  attitude  thus  assumed.  Viewed  in  the  former 
light,  it  is  the  one  offence,  the  transgression,  by  which  death 
came  on  all  men;  whilst  in  the  latter,  it  presents  itself  as  a 
principle  of  evil,  whence  transgressions  continually  flow.  But 
in  these  two  there  is  but  one  criminality,  which  inheres  insepa- 
rably in  both,  and  consists  essentially  in  that  enmity  to  God 
which  was  enthroned  in  the  first  transgression,  and  thereafter 
reigns  as  a  permanent  principle  of  evil.  In  his  discussion,  the 
apostle  recognises  this  identity  in  the  two,  and  indicates  it  by 
the  continuous  flow  of  the  argument,  and  by  the  manner  in 
which  the  phrases,  "the  offence"  and  "the  sin,"  are  interchange- 
ably used.  At  the  same  time,  he  discriminates  the  two  aspects 
of  the  subject  by  the  manner  of  discussion,  which,  after  the 
order  of  nature,  exhibits  first,  the  doctrine  respecting  the  offence 
as  the  sin  of  the  world,  involving  the  entire  race  in  condemna- 
tion, and  then,  as  a  principle  of  sin,  which  abides  in  all  men, 
and  is  the  cause  of  all  actual  sins. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

DEFINITION   OP   GUILT  AND   OF   IMPUTATION. 

The  word,  guilt,  is  much  used  by  the  standard  writers  on 
original  sin.  By  the  Westminster  divines,  it  is  employed  in  such 
3  1.  Guilt  is  connections  that  their  whole  doctrine  is  materially 
criminal  i ia-  involved  in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  to  be  understood. 
inhty.  Thus,   in   the  very  definition   of   original  sin,   the 

word  occurs : — "  The  guilt  of  Adam's  first  sin,  the  want  of 
original  righteousness,  and  the  corruption  of  his  whole  nature," 
"is  commonly  called  original  sin."  It  is  therefore  requisite 
that  we  ascertain  precisely  the  meaning  of  this  word.  It  is  the 
more  necessary,  as  a  definition  is  sometimes  given  which  we 
are  constrained  to  regard  as  materially  defective ;  and  which 
tends  to  modify  very  seriously  the  sense  of  our  standards  on 
the  subject  before  us. 

According  to  the  definition  to  which  we  allude,  the  words, 
guilt  and  guilty,  as  applied  to  persons,  do  not  convey  any  im- 
peachment of  crime.  If  the  party  is  a  criminal,  other  lan- 
guage is  requisite  to  express  the  fact.  All  that  is  meant  by 
guilt  is,  mere  liability  to  punishment,  at  the  bar  of  the  law ;  and 
he  who  is  guilty  may  be  without  crime,  although  condemned  to 
suffer  a  penal  infliction.  This  definition  seizes  upon  a  secondary 
and  accidental  element  in  the  meaning  of  the  word,  and  appro- 
priates it,  to  the  exclusion  of  that  which  is  the  primary  and 
fundamental  idea,  from  which  the  other  takes  its  origin.  That 
the  question  at  issue  is  of  importance,  is  evident.  If  the  defi- 
nition be  adopted,  which  we  suppose  to  be  the  true  one,  our 
Shorter  Catechism  is  to  be  understood  as  teaching  that  "  the 
sinfulness  of  that  estate  whereinto  man  fell,  consists  in  the  cri- 
minality of  Adam's  first  sin,  the  want  of  original  righteousness, 

461 


462  The  Elohim  Revealed,  [chap.  xv. 

and  the  corruption  of  his  whole  nature."  If  the  other  be  pre- 
ferred, that  sinfulness  is  made  to  consist  in  the  liability  to  be 
punished  for  that  sin,  &c.  How  our  children  are  to  be  satisfied 
of  the  sinfulness  of  a  mere  penal  liability,  is  not  very  clear. 
This  much,  however,  is  evident, — that  the  matter  at  issue  is 
worthy  of  a  very  careful  investigation. 

In  respect  to  the  Scripture  usage  as  to  the  word,  guilt,  much 
need  not  be  said.  We  have  already  had  occasion  to  point  out 
the  fact  that  the  essential  idea  expressed  by  the  word,  sin,  is, 
deflection  from  a  recognised  rule  of  conduct ;  and  that,  although 
it  ordinarily  has  respect  to  the  law  of  God,  it  is  also  used  in 
reference  to  other  rules  of  action,  as  well  as  that ;  and  hence 
the  moral  nature  of  the  action  involved  is  to  be  determined  by 
the  nature  and  obligation  of  the  rule  which  is  violated.  The 
same  remark  applies  to  the  word,  guilt.  It  is  invariably  used 
to  express  the  position  of  one  who  has  sinned ;  that  is,  who  has 
violated  some  law.  Thus  it  is  used  in  respect  to  the  laws  of  the 
country.  When,  at  the  tribunal,  a  party  is  found  guilty,  the 
idea  expressed  is  that  of  condemnation  for  violation  of  law.  So, 
in  the  Scriptures,  it  is  sometimes  used  in  cases  where  great  moral 
turpitude  is  not  implied ;  but  never  where  there  has  not  been 
transgression  of  law.  As  Owen  well  expresses  it,  "  Guilt  is  the 
respect  of  sin  to  the  sanction  of  the  law."  It  includes  two  ideas 
in  its  meaning.  The  one  is,  violation  of  law;  and  upon  the 
character  of  the  law  which  is  violated  depends  the  moral  enor- 
mity which  the  word  implies.  Thus,  the  guilt  of  petty  larceny 
is  one  thing,  that  of  murder  is  another.  One  person  may  be 
guilty  of  violating  conventional  rules,  which  have  no  moral  obli- 
gation ;  whilst  another  incurs  the  fearful  guilt  of  blaspheming 
God.  The  second  element  in  the  meaning  of  the  word,  is,  the 
liability  to  punishment  which  the  transgression  involves.  This 
liability  results  from  the  terms  of  the  law  itself,  denouncing 
the  penal  infliction  against  transgression;  and  the  design  of 
it  is  to  vindicate  the  sovereignty  of  the  law;  which,  if  not 
honoured  by  the  obedience  of  the  subject,  must  be  so  by  the 
infliction  which  it  lays  upon  him.  Hence  no  one  can  be  guilty 
except  he  has  violated  the  law  which  condemns  him.     And  the 


sect,  i.]     Definition  of  Guilt  and  of  Imputation.  463 

amount  of  moral  turpitude  which  the  word  imputes,  is  depend- 
ent upon  the  moral  obligation  of  the  law  which  has  been  trans- 
gressed. The  law  of  God  being  of  infinite  obligation,  its 
demands  infinitely  righteous,  and  its  penalty  infinitely  just,  it 
follows  that  there  cannot  be  guilt  at  the  bar  of  that  law  without 
moral  turpitude,  and  that  of  infinite  enormity.  The  word  is 
never  used  in  the  Scriptures  where  the  guilty  party  is  not  im- 
peached of  transgression.  In  fact,  so  intimate  is  the  relation 
there  recognised  between  sin  and  guilt,  that  the  word,  (d?w),  which 
is  the  one  commonly  employed  to  express  guilt,  is  used,  as  Owen 
truly  remarks,  equally  for  sin,  the  guilt  of  it,  its  punishment, 
and  satisfaction  for  it,  whether  pecuniary  or  by  expiation.  How 
intimately  such  a  usage  as  this  identifies  guilt  with  sin,  we  need 
not  insist. 

The  definitions  of  the  standard  theologians  accord  perfectly 
with  the  principles  which  we  have  stated,  and  the  practice  of 
1 2.  standard  the  Scriptures.  Calvin  does  not  formally  define  the 
writers.  word ;  but  we  have  his  testimony  on  the  question 

before  us,  in  a  line.  He  says  of  original  sin,  that  "  it  is  pro- 
perly accounted  sin  before  God ;  because  there  cannot  be  guilt 
without  crime;  (non  esset  reatus  absque  culpa)."* 

Says  John  Marck,  "Guilt  is  obligation  to  punishment  (ex 
peccato  vel  delicto)  from  sin  or  crime.  It  is,  by  some,  inaccu- 
rately defined  as  the  essence  of  the  sin  itself;  but  the  essential 
matter  of  sin  is  the  violation  of  law  itself,  which  produces  de- 
filement and  guilt.  This  guilt  follows  sin,  partly  by  virtue  of 
the  divine  law  denouncing  punishment  against  transgressions ; 
partly  from  the  intrinsic  nature  of  sin,  which,  on  account  of  its 
deformity  and  deviation  from  the  ultimate  end,  always  deserves 
punishment  from  a  most  righteous  God.  It  therefore  arises  out 
of  crime,  and  precedes  punishment.  As  to  its  result,  it  pertains 
to  the  punishment ;  as  to  its  source,  to  the  crime.  Guilt  pro- 
ceeds directly  from  sin ;  but  the  punishment,  since  it  is  by  justice, 
is  only  from  it  by  consequent  provision." 

"  The  papists  improperly  discriminate  between  the  guilt  of 
crime  and  of  punishment ;  for  if  crime  be  taken  for  the  offence, 


*  Institutes,  Book  II.  chap.  i.  \  8. 


464  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xv. 

guilt  is  the  medium  between  that  and  the  punishment ;  if,  for 
the  stain,  to  it  guilt  is  contradistinguished,  since  guilt  is  either 
potential,  in  its  first  action,  indicating  the  intrinsic  desert  of 
punishment,  which  inseparably  inheres  in  the  crime  or  the  stain 
so  long  as  they  remain,  although  the  sin  be  remitted  by  the 
mercy  of  God ;  or  actual,  in  its  second  action,  which  is  separated 
and  taken  away  from  sin  by  remission,  which  is  properly  the 
taking  away  of  the  actual  guilt, — the  not  enforcing  of  the  de- 
clared will  of  God  respecting  the  punishment  which  sin  other- 
wise deserves, — on  account  of  satisfaction  given.  These  two 
[potential  and  actual  guilt]  differ  as  do  gravity  and  gravitation, 
of  which  the  latter  is  separable  from  a  solid  body,  but  the  former 
is  not.  Whence  it  appears  that  the  papists  improperly  dis- 
tinguish between  the  remission  of  the  punishment  and  of  the 
crime,  that  they  may  favour  their  purgatory.  Nor  do  they 
conform  to  reason,  whilst  sometimes  they  wish  the  guilt  to  be 
inseparable  from  the  crime,  that  they  may  prove  nothing  of 
original  sin  to  remain  to  the  baptized, — they  being  unable  to 
distinguish  potential  and  actual  guilt.  Sometimes  they  so  make 
guilt  separable  from  the  crime,  that,  the  latter  being  remitted, 
they  pretend  the  guilt  and  liability,  at  least  to  temporal  punish- 
ment, to  remain.  But  in  fact  the  crime  is  not  only  the  antece- 
dent cause  of  the  guilt,  but  also  the  recipient  subject  of  it.  It 
is  not,  therefore,  possible  for  the  accident  to  remain,  the  subject 
being  taken  away;  but  the  accident  being  removed,  the  subject 
may  still  remain."* 

"Guilt,"  says  Van  Mastricht,  "is  obligation  to  punishment 
for  sin,  by  which  the  sinner  is  said  to  be,  Dtjw, — Lev.  v.  2,  3,  4,  5 ; 
bif  S.fxapTcav  elvac, — under  sin, — Rom.  iii.  9,  vii.  14 ;  and  in  his 
sins, — 1  Cor.  xv.  17 ;  biiodcxov  ylvzoQai  rw  6sa>, — Bom.  iii.  19 ; 
a  debtor  to  God. — Matt.  vi.  12,  and  Luke  vi.  4.  Guilt  follows 
sin,  partly  from  its  intrinsic  nature  and  demerit,  inasmuch  as  it 
is  not  a  thing  without  character,  or  indifferent,  but  in  its  own 
nature  evil,  and  deserving  punishment;  which,  unless  the  na- 
ture of  things  should  be  confounded,  and  the  distinction  between 

*  Marckii  Medulla,  Locus  vi.  16,  18,  19. 


sect,  ii.]     Definition  of  Guilt  and  of  ImjputaMon.  465 

good  and  evil  taken  away,  may  not  be  withheld ; — partly  by  the 
sanction  of  the  divine  law.  The  first  is  called  the  intrinsic 
desert  of  punishment,  (Eom.  i.  32,)  the  latter,  the  actual  con- 
demnation to  punishment.  The  one  is  potential  guilt,  insepa- 
rable from  sin ;  the  other,  actual,  which,  by  the  gracious  dis- 
pensation of  God,  may  be  separated,  if  not  from  the  sin,  at  least 
from  the  sinner.  Guilt  is,  therefore,  (medium  quid,)  a  link  of 
connection  between  the  crime  and  the  punishment.  It  springs 
out  of  the  crime,  and  leads  to  the  punishment ;  so  that  the  guilt 
of  crime  and  the  guilt  of  punishment  are  one,  which  lies  as  a 
medium  between  these  termini,  and  is  named  equally  from  each." 

"  From  guilt  arises  (1)  a  conscience  justly  accusing  and  con- 
demning ;  (2)  terror ;  (3)  flight  from  the  presence  of  God,  arising 
from  fear  of  the  divine  vengeance ;  (4)  punishment,  the  ultimate 
consequence  of  sin."* 

Of  the  distinction  between  reatus  peence  and  reatus  eulpee,  this 
writer  says,  "All  guilt  consists  in  obligation  to  punishment; 
therefore  the  distinction  is  made  without  a  difference;  for  guilt 
is  a  medium  between  crime  and  punishment,  which,  growing 
out  of  the  crime,  leads  to  the  punishment, — coalescing  with  both, 
and  constituting  a  medium  which  embraces  both,  and  is  desig- 
nated as  much  from  the  one  as  from  the  other."  "Our  oppo- 
nents are  able  to  urge  nothing,  unless  it  be  that  the  guilt  of 
crime  cannot  be  separated  from  sin,  since  sin  by  its  very  nature 
deserves  punishment,  whilst  the  guilt  of  punishment  may  be 
taken  away.  But  this  does  not  call  for  a  discrimination  between 
criminal  and  penal  guilt,  but  only  between  potential  and  actual, 
— of  which  the  former  cannot  be  separated,  but  the  latter  is  by 
Christ."f 

Our  next  authority  is  Samuel  Rutherford,  Professor  of  Di- 
vinity in  the  University  of  St.  Andrews.  "In  July,  1643,  the 
"Westminster  Assembly  sat,  and  to  it  he  was  sent  up  as  one  of 
the  commissioners  from  Scotland.  There  exists,  in  the  MSS. 
in  the  library  of  Edinburgh  University,  a  sketch  of  the  Shorter 

*  Van  Mastricht,  Theol.  Lib.  iv.  cap.  ii.  §  7,  8. 
f  Ibid.  Cap.  iv.  \  23. 
30 


466  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  xv. 

Catechism  in  Rutherford's  handwriting,  very  much  resembling 
the  Catechism  as  it  now  stands, — as  if  he  had  had  the  principal 
hand  in  drawing  it  up  for  the  Assembly.  .  .  .  During  his  residence 
in  London,  several  of  his  family  died;  yet,  amid  the  trials  and 
bustle  of  that  time,  he  wrote  'The  Due  Right  of  Presbytery,' 
'Lex  Rex,'  and  'The  Trial  and  Triumph  of  Faith.'"*  The 
following  passages  from  the  latter  work  occur  in  a  discussion  of 
the  Antinomian  doctrine  that  our  very  sins  were  transfused  to 
Jesus  Christ.     In  opposition  to  this  heresy,  he  says : — 

"The  guilt  of  sin,  and  sin  itself,  are  not  one  and  the  same 
thing,  but  far  different  things.  That  I  may  prove  the  point,  let 
the  terms  be  considered.  There  be  two  things  in  sin,  very  con- 
siderable. 1.  The  blot,  defilement  and  blackness  of  sin;  which 
I  conceive  is  nothing  but  the  absence  and  privation  of  that  moral 
rectitude,  the  want  of  that  whiteness,  innocency  and  righteous- 
ness, which  the  holy  and  clean  law  of  the  Lord  requireth  to  be 
in  the  actions,  inclinations  and  powers  of  the  soul  of  a  reasonable 
creature.  2.  There  is  the  guilt  of  sin;  that  is  somewhat  which 
issueth  from  this  blot  and  blackness  of  sin ;  according  to  which 
the  person  is  liable  and  obnoxious  to  eternal  punishment.  This 
is  the  debt  of  sin,  the  law  obligation  to  satisfaction  passive  for 
sin;  just  as  there  be  two  things  in  debt,  so  these  two  things  are 
in  sin.  .  .  .  Now,  here  be  two  things  in  debt.  1.  An  unjust 
thing ;  a  hurting  of  our  brother  in  his  goods :  this  is  a  blot,  and 
a  thing  privately  contrary  to  justice.  2.  A  just  thing;  a  guilt, 
a  just  debt;  according  to  which  it  is  most  just  that  the  broken 
man  either  pay  or  suffer.  Now,  these  two,  as  all  contraries  do, 
they  make  a  number;  as  just  and  unjust  must  be  two  things, 
and  two  contrary  things.  I  know  there  be  cavils  and  subtleties 
of  schoolmen  touching  the  blot  and  the  guilt  of  sin;  but  this  is 
the  naked  truth,  which  I  have  here  declared.  Some  say,  '  the 
blot  of  sin,  is  that  uncleanness  of  sin  which  is  washed  away 
by  the  blood  of  the  Lord  Jesus;  and  this  is  nothing  but  the 
very  guilt  of  sin,  which  is  wholly  removed  in  justification.'     But 

*  Memoir  by  Bonar,  prefixed  to  Rutherford's  Letters.  Carters,  New  York : 
1856,  p.  21. 


sect,  ii.]      Definition  of  Guilt  and  of  Imputation.  467 

I  easily  answer :  The  blot  of  sin  hath  divers  relations,  and  these 
contrary  one  to  another.  As,  1.  There  is  the  blot  of  sin  in  re- 
lation to  the  holy  law,  as  it  is  a  privation  of  the  rectitude  and 
holiness  that  the  spiritual  law  requireth;  and  it  is  formally  sin, 
and  not  the  guilt  of  sin.  ...  2.  The  blot  of  sin  in  relation  to 
God,  as  offended  and  injured,  putteth  on  the  habit  of  guilt,  and 
so  is  washed  away  in  'the  fountain  opened  to  the  house  of  David,' 
and  formally  removed  in  justification;  but  now  [in  relation  to 
that  which  was  assumed  by  Christ]  it  is  not  formally  considered 
as  sin,  but  according  to  that  which  is  accidental  in  sin;  viz., 
obligation  to  punishment,  which  may  be  and  is  removed  from 
sin,  the  true  essence  and  nature  of  sin  being  saved  whole  and 
entire.  Hence  sin  hath  divers  considerations.  ...  As  it  offend- 
eth  and  injureth  God  in  his  honour,  and  glory  of  supreme 
authority  to  command  what  is  just  and  holy,  it  is  an  offence  and 
provocation,  (Isa.  iii.  8;  Ps.  lxxviii.  17;)  a  displeasing  of  God, 
(1  Cor.  x.  5 ;  2  Sam.  xi.  27 ;)  a  grieving  of  him  and  his  Spirit, 
(Eph.  iv.  30;  Gen.  vi.  6;  Ps.  xcv.  10;)  a  tempting  of  God,  (Ps. 
lxxviii.  18,  xcv.  9;  Acts  xv.  10;)  a  wearying  of  the  Lord, 
and  making  him  to  serve,  (Isa.  xliii.  24,  vii.  15 ;)  a  loading  of  the 
Lord,  (Isa.  i.  24;)  a  pressing  of  the  Lord  as  a  cart  is  pressed 
under  a  heavy  load  of  sheaves,  (Amos  ii.  13;) — and  so  is  punished 
with  everlasting  punishment.  Hence  there  is  a  twofold  guilt: 
one  fundamental,  potential,  the  guilt  of  sin  as  sin ;  this  is  all  one 
with  sin,  being  the  very  essence,  soul  and  formal  being  of  sin; 
and  this  guilt  cannot  remove  from  sin,  so  as  sin  shall  remain  sin ; 
take  this  away,  and  you  take  away  sin  itself.    But  this  is  removed 

in  sanctincation  as  perfected,  not  in  justification But  there 

is  another  guilt  in  sin,  called  the  guilt  or  obligation  to  punish- 
ment ;  the  actual  guilt,  or  actual  obligation  of  the  person  who 
hath  sinned,  to  punishment ;  and  this  guilt  is  a  thing  far  differ- 
ent from  sin  itself,  and  is  separable  from  sin,  and  may  be  and  is 
removed  from  sin,  without  the  destruction  of  the  essence  of  sin; 
and  is  fully  removed  in  justification."* 

*  Rutherford's  Trial  and  Triumph  of  Faith.  Issued  by  the  Committee  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  for  the  publication  of  the 
works  of  Scottish  Reformers  and  Divines.     Edinburgh.  1848,  pp.  222. 


468  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xv. 

"And  truly  it  is  bad  divinity  for  Dr.  Crispe  to  say,  'As  we 
are  actual  real  sinners  in  Adam,  so  here,  God  passeth  really  sin 
over  on  Christ.'  For  we  sinned  intrinsically  in  Adam,  as  parts, 
as  members,  as  being  in  his  loins;  and  we  are  thence  'by  nature 
children  of  wrath.' — Eph.  ii.  3.  But  it  is  blasphemy  to  say, 
that  our  blessed  Saviour  sinned  intrinsically  in  us,  as  part  or 
member  of  the  redeemed,  or  that  he  is  a  son  of  God's  wrath,  for 
sin  intrinsically  inherent  in  him  as  it  is  in  us.  Further,  Christ's 
bearing  of  our  iniquities  is  an  obvious  Hebraism,  and  all  one 
with  the  bearing, — not  of  the  intrinsical  and  fundamental  guilt  of 
sin, — but  of  the  extrinsical  guilt,  or  debt  and  punishment,  of  sin."* 

We  might  add  the  harmonious  testimony  of  Owen,  Turrettin, 
Ames  of  Franckaer,f  and  many  others.  In  fact,  the  standard 
authorities  are  altogether  unanimous.  In  these  definitions,  the 
following  points  are  to  be  noticed : — 

1.  They,  in  every  instance,  include  the  idea  of  antecedent  sin, 
l  3  Anal,  sis  as  an  essential  element  in  the  meaning  of  the  word, 
of  these  deji-  guilt.  In  the  language  of  Owen,  it  is  "  the  relation 
nitions.  0j  sin  to  tne  sanction  of  the  law."  It  is  "  liability 
to  punishment  for  sin." 

2.  Guilt  is  resolved  into  two  elements :  the  one  fundamental, 
intrinsical,  potential, — "the  intrinsic  desert  of  punishment;" — 
the  other,  accidental,  extrinsical,  actual, — "  the  appointment  to 
punishment,  by  the  justice  of  God."  "  The  one  pertains  to  the 
demerit  of  sin;"  "the  other,  to  the  judgment  of  demerit." 

3.  "  There  can  be  no  liability  to  punishment,"  says  Owen, 
"  obligatio  ad  pcenam,  where  there  is  not  desert  of  punishment, 
dignitas  popna."  Again,  "  There  can  be  no  punishment,  nor, 
reatus  paznaz,  the  guilt  of  it,  but  where  there  is  reatus  culpm,  or 
sin  considered  with  its  guilt." 

4.  In  the  usage  of  Scripture,  the  sin  and  punishment  are 
spoken  of  in  a  manner  indicating  the  most  intimate  and  insepa- 
rable relation.  Guilt  there,  without  exception,  implies  sin  in 
the  guilty.     In  the  language  of  Owen,  and  with  his  italics,  "  It 

*  Trial  and  Triumph  of  Faith,  p.  239. 

f  See  Owen  on  Justification,  ch.  viii.  Board  of  Pud.,  p.  222  ;  Turrettin, 
Locus  ix.  Qu.  viii.  §  1,  and  Qu.  iii.  \\  2-6;  Amesii  Theol.  Medul.,  Lib.  i.  cap.  12. 


sect,  ii.]      Definition  of  Guilt  and  of  Imputation.  469 

signifies  the  relation  of  the  sin  intended  unto  punishment.  And 
other  significations  of  it  will  be  in  vain  sought  for  in  the  Old 
Testament." 

5.  Guilt  "  lies  as  a  medium  between  the  crime  and  the  punish- 
ment, and  is  named  equally  from  each." 

6.  Crime  and  guilt  are  related  as  recipient  subject  and  acci- 
dent ;  and  "  it  is  not  possible  for  the  accident  (guilt)  to  remain, 
the  subject  being  taken  away." 

7.  Sin,  says  Turrettin,  "as  it  has  respect  to  the  precept  of  the 
law,  is  called  unlawfulness  or  transgression ;  as  it  has  respect 
to  the  threatening,  guilt." 

8.  "From  guilt  arises,"  as  the  first  consequence,  "a  con- 
science justly  accusing  and  condemning."  Now,  conscience  does 
not  deal  with  legal  liabilities,  but  with  moral  criminality  and 
desert. 

The  use  of  the  word  in  the  Westminster  standards  confirms 
the .  conclusions  to  which  these  definitions  lead : — "  Every  sin, 
I  4.  Guilt  in  both  original  and  actual,  being  a  transgression  of  the 
our  standards,  righteous  law  of  God,  and  contrary  thereunto,  doth, 
in  its  own  nature,  bring  guilt  upon  the  sinner,  whereby  he  is 
bound  over  to  the  wrath  of  God  and  curse  of  the  law,  and  so 
made  subject  to  death,  with  all  miseries,  spiritual,  temporal  and 
eternal."*  The  reader  will  judge  whether  the  idea  of  desert  is 
here  excluded  from  the  word,  guilt, — an  exclusion  which  would 
give  the  close  of  the  section  the  aspect  of  unmeaning  tautology. 
Again,  "  The  covenant  being  made  with  Adam  not  only  for  himself 
but  for  his  posterity,  all  mankind,  descending  from  him  by  ordi- 
nary generation,  sinned  in  him,  and  fell  with  him,  in  his  first 
transgression."  "  The  sinfulness  of  that  estate  whereinto  man 
fell  consists  in  the  guilt  of  Adam's  first  sin,"  &c.f  Here  "  the 
guilt  of  Adam's  first  sin"  is  stated  as  a  sinful  consequence  of  the 
sin  which  we  "  sinned  in  him."  Not  only  so,  but  in  this  analysis, 
in  which  the  whole  consequences  are  formally  resolved  into  the 
two  elements  of  criminal  and  penal, — "  sinfulness  and  misery," 
— the  guilt  is  thus  ranked  under  the  criminal  head,  as  one  of 

*  Confession,  Chap.  vi.  $6.  f  Shorter  Catechism,  Qu.  16,  18. 


470  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xv. 

the  features  of  man's  sinfulness.  Notice,  further,  that  Kutherford, 
a  member  of  the  Assembly,  and  probable  author  of  this  very 
Catechism,  distinctly  asserts,  as  we  have  seen,  that  "  we  sinned 
intrinsically  in  Adam,  as  parts,  as  members,  as  being  in  his  loins ;" 
and  can  there  be  a  question,  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  word,  guilt, 
as  used  in  this  place  of  the  Catechism ;  or,  as  to  the  doctrine  which 
it  is  designed  to  teach  ?  Again,  we  read  that,  our  first  parents 
"  being  the  root  of  all  mankind,  the  guilt  of  this  sin  was  imputed, 
and  the  same  death  in  sin,  and  corrupted  nature,  conveyed  to  all 
their  posterity,  descending  from  them  by  ordinary  generation."* 
Now,  imputation  has  respect  to  the  precept  of  the  law  alone, 
and  not  to  its  sanction.  In  other  words,  in  imputation  the  sub- 
jects are  compared  to  the  law,  and  judged  as  to  conformity  or 
nonconformity  to  it ;  as  sin  is  imputed  to  the  sinner,  and  right- 
eousness to  Christ.  It  is  altogether  an  incongruous  use  of  the 
word  to  speak  of  the  penal  sanction  of  the  law  being  imputed 
to  the  transgressor, — the  miseries  of  hell  imputed  to  Satan. 
And  yet  such,  precisely,  will  be  the  incongruity  of  the  language 
of  the  Confession,  above  quoted,  if  the  word,  "guilt,"  be  inter- 
preted by,  mere  liability  to  punishment.  The  only  definition 
which  will  harmonize  with  this  passage  is  that  asserted  by  the 
authorities  above  given,  including  with  the  idea  of  exposure  to 
punishment,  that  of  criminality,  the  cause  of  that  liability.  In 
fact,  our  Confession  and  Catechisms  use  the  word  in  no  other 
than  this  its  primary  and  proper  sense,  indicating  the  evil  or 
demerit  and  condemnation  which  belong  to  sin.  They  neither 
rise  it  in  the  sense  of  actual,  as  contradistinguished  from  poten- 
tial guilt,  nor  in  that  of  potential  guilt,  exclusive  of  actual. 
The  former  of  these  is,  by  orthodox  authorities,  applied  to  the 
single  case  of  Christ,  voluntarily  assuming  the  penal  liability  of 
his  people ;  the  latter,  to  his  people,  who,  although  thus  released 
from  the  penalty  of  the  law,  are  nevertheless,  in  themselves, 
sinners  deserving  of  punishment.  But  on  neither  of  these 
subjects  is  the  word  employed  in  our  standards. 

Another  word,  of  which  it  is  necessary  to  fix  the  precise  mean- 

*  Confession,  Chapter  vi.  \  3. 


sect,  iv.]    Definition  of  Guilt  and  of  Imputation.  471 

ing,  is,  imputation.  To  impute,  is,  to  attribute  a  moral  act  or 
I  5.  imputa-  attitude  to  a  party.  It  is  the  charging  or  setting 
Hon  defined.  to  the  account  of  a  moral  agent,  of  such  facts,  whe- 
ther meritorious  or  criminal,  as  constitute  the  grounds  upon 
which  the  tribunal  of  justice  may  base  the  decree  of  approval 
or  condemnation.  Thus,  when  God  declares  that,  "  If  any  of 
the  flesh  of  the  sacrifice  of  his  peace-offerings  be  eaten  at  all  on 
the  third  day,  it  shall  not  be  accepted,  neither  shall  it  be  im- 
puted unto  him  that  offereth  it," — Lev.  vii.  18,  the  meaning  is, 
that  it  will  not  be  accredited  to  the  party  as  compliance  with  the 
law.  When  it  is  stated  that,  whosoever  killeth  a  sacrifice  else- 
where than  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle,  "  blood  shall  be  im- 
puted unto  that  man,  he  hath  shed  blood," — Lev.  xvii.  4,  the  latter 
phrase  is  equivalent  to  the  former :  the  imputation  of  blood  is 
the  charging  of  it  against  the  party,  at  the  tribunal,  in  order 
to  sentence.  So,  too,  in  Paul's  quotation  from  the  Psalms, 
"  Blessed  are  they  whose  iniquities  are  forgiven,  and  whose  sins 
are  covered.  Blessed  is  the  man  to  whom  the  Lord  will  not 
impute  sin," — Rom.  iv.  7,  8,  the  meaning  is  manifest : — not  to 
impute  sin,  is,  to  omit  the  charge  of  it  against  the  transgressor. 
See,  also,  2  Sam.  xix.  19 ;  Psalm  xxxii.  2 ;  2  Cor.  v.  19 ;  2  Tim. 
iv.  16.  "  These,  and  numerous  similar  passages,  render  the 
scriptural  idea  of  imputation  perfectly  clear :  it  is  laying  any 
thing  to  one's  charge,  and  treating  him  accordingly.  It  pro- 
duces no  change  in  the  individual  to  whom  the  imputation  is 
made :  it  simply  alters  his  relation  to  the  law.  As  far  as  the 
meaning  of  the  word  is  concerned,  it  is  a  matter  of  indifference 
whether  the  thing  imputed  belonged  antecedently  to  the  person 
to  whom  the  imputation  is  made,  or  not."* 

Here,  however,  a  question  of  no  little  importance  arises.  Can 
that  be  imputed  to  a  party  at  the  bar,  which  does  not  really 
belong  to  him  ?  The  question  is  in  respect  to  the  bar  of  God ; 
and  it  is,  therefore,  equivalent  to  asking  whether  "  the  judgment 
of  God  is  according  to  truth ;"  of  which  the  apostle  declares  that 
he  is  sure.    (Rom.  ii.  2.)     Says  Turrettin,  "  Imputation  is  either 

*  Hodge  on  the  Romans,  p.  88. 


472  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xv. 

of  what  belongs  to  another,  or  of  what  is  our  own.  Sometimes 
that  is  imputed  to  us  which  is  ours  personally ;  in  which  sense 
God  imputes  sins  to  sinners  whom  he  punishes  for  their  own 
personal  crimes ;  and,  in  respect  to  good  deeds,  the  zeal  of 
Phineas  is  said  to  have  been  imputed  to  him  for  righteousness. 
Psalm  cvi.  31.  Sometimes  that  is  imputed  which  is  extraneous 
to  us,  and  not  our  deed ;  in  which  manner,  the  righteousness 
of  Christ  is  said  to  be  imputed  to  us,  and  our  sins  to  him ;  al- 
though neither  had  he  sin  in  himself,  nor  we  righteousness." 
"  But,  when  the  sin  of  another  is  said  to  be  imputed  to  any  one, 
it  is  not  to  be  understood  that  the  sin  is,  purely  and  in  every 
sense,  foreign  to  him ;  but  that,  by  some  means,  it  pertains  to 
him  to  whom  it  is  said  to  be  imputed ;  if  not  strictly  his  own, 
individually  and  personally,  then  (communiter)  conjointly,  on 
account  of  community  between  him  and  its  proper  author.  For 
there  can  be  no  imputation  of  the  sin  of  another,  unless  it  is 
based  upon  some  special  union  of  the  one  with  the  other."*  So, 
Van  Mastricht,  speaking  of  original  sin,  says,  "  The  imputation 
does  not  consist  in  a  merely  putative  act,  by  which  God  con- 
siders the  breach  of  the  covenant  to  have  been  committed  not 
only  by  our  first  parents,  but  in  action  and  personally  by  all 
their  posterity ;  for  in  this  there  is  a  manifest  error ; — but  that 
the  breach  of  the  covenant  which  was  committed  by  the  act  of 
our  first  parents,  was  committed  by  all  their  posterity,  in  them, 
as  in  their  cause,  "f  And  Marck  says  that  "Adam's  transgres- 
sion was  not  merely  personal,  as  were  those  that  followed  it,  but 
common,  and,  in  a  sense,  belonging  to  the  nature.  It  hence  ap- 
pears that  the  dogma  of  the  Pelagians  and  Remonstrants  is  to 
be  rejected, — that  the  sin  of  Adam  was  so  alien  to  us,  that  it 
could  not  be  called  ours ;  for  by  God  it  could  not  be  imputed  to 
us,  justly,  unless  it  was  in  some  manner  ours;  since  'the  soul 
that  sinneth,  it  shall  die.'  "J 

Imputation,  then,  is  the  finding  of  the  facts,  upon  a  judicial 
investigation, — the  entering  of  the  verdict,  by  which  the  case 
is  defined  in  its  true  character;    a  comparison  of  which  with 

*  Turrettini  Instit,,  Locus  I.  Qu.  ix.  $g  10,  11. 

f  Van  Mastricht,  Lib.  iv.  Cap.  ii.  10.  %  Marckii  Medulla,  Lib.  vi.  g  36. 


sect,  v.]       Definition  of  Guilt  and  Imputation.  473 

the  requirements  of  the  law,  constitutes  the  ground  of  the  de- 
cision of  the  judge,  either  of  approval  or  condemnation.  In  this 
imputation,  the  case  is  never  viewed  or  represented  in  any  other 
light  than  precisely  as  it  is.  For  example,  it  does  not  consider 
him  as  a  personal  sinner,  an  immediate  transgressor,  who  is  only 
guilty  in  the  person  of  another,  his  representative.  Nor  does 
it  account  him  to  be  righteous,  who,  though  chargeable  with  no 
personal  dereliction,  has  transgressed  in  the  person  of  another. 
In  short,  in  imputation,  a  faithful  record  is  made  of  the  case, 
precisely  as  it  is,  in  all  its  aspects  and  elements  ;  and,  this  being 
done,  the  office  of  imputation  ceases.  The  rest  remains  for  the 
decision  of  the  judge,  in  accordance  with  the  law. 

Another  point,  to  be  distinctly  marked,  is,  that  imputation 
does  not  exert  any  kind  of  efficiency  over  the  facts,  to  modify  or 
transform  them.  It  does  not  create  any  different  state  of  the 
case  from  that  which  existed  prior  to  the  imputing  act.  That 
which  is  not  mine,  otherwise,  cannot  be  made  mine  by  imputa- 
tion. It  does  not  make  the  case ;  but  ascertains  and  records  it, 
as  it  already  exists. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

ORIGINAL   SIN   IMPUTED — THE   GUILT   OF   ADAM'S    FIRST   SIN. 

"  Peccatum  originale,  .  .  .  quomodo  intra vit  ?  .  .  .  Per  propagationem,  per  impu- 
tationem,  idque  jure  hereditario,  propagatum  per  generationis  naturalis  suc- 
cessionem.  Tria  erant  in  primo  peccato ;  1.  culpa  actualis ;  2.  pravitas 
naturalis,  sive  horribilis  naturae  deformitas ;  3.  reatus  legalis.  Et  haec  omnia 
ad  posteros  introierunt,  non  una  via,  sed  triplici ;  culpa  participatione,  quia 
omnes  seminali  ratione  fuerunt  in  lumbis  Adami ;  pravitas  propagatione,  seu 
generatione,  quia  filios  genuit  Adam,  ad  imaginem  suam,  non  Dei ;  reatus  im- 
putatione,  quia  gratia  ita  Adamo  collata  est  ut  si  peccaret,  tota  posteritas  cum 
ipso  ea  excideret ;  sicut  feuda  tali  conditione  dantur  vasalis,  ut  si  ea  per 
culpam  perdant,  eodem  reatu  liberos  involvant." — Poli  Synopsis  Ckiticorum, 
in  Rom.  v.  12. 

The  statement  given  above  presents,  with  admirable  clearness 
and  discrimination,  the  doctrine  of  original  sin,  as  held  from  the 
I  l.  Doctrine  beginning,  in  the  Reformed  churches.  It  is  adopted 
of  imputation,  ^y  p00lej  with  an  appeal  to  the  authority  of  Parseus, 
the  colleague  and  editor  of  Ursinus.  "There  were  three  things 
in  the  first  sin.  1.  Actual  crime.  2.  Natural  depravity,  or  a 
horrible  deformity  of  nature.  3.  Legal  guilt.  And  these  come 
upon  his  posterity,  not  in  one  but  three  ways ; — crime  by  par- 
ticipation, because  all  were,  by  the  law  of  propagation,  in  the 
loins  of  Adam ; — depravity  by  propagation  or  generation,  because 
Adam  begat  sons  in  his  own  image,  not  that  of  God ; — guilt  by 
imputation,  because  grace  was  so  bestowed  upon  Adam,  that  if 
he  sinned,  he  in  the  act  destroyed  his  whole  posterity  with  him- 
self; as  fiefs  are  given  to  vassals  upon  such  terms  that  if  by  any 
offence  they  forfeit  them,  they  involve  their  children  with  them- 
selves in  the  damage."  To  precisely  the  same  purpose  are  the 
statements  of  our  Catechism: — "The  covenant  being  made  with 
Adam  not  only  for  himself,  but  for  his  posterity,  all  mankind 
474 


sect,  i.]  Original  Sin  Imputed.  475 

descending  from  him  by  ordinary  generation,  sinned  in  him,  and 
fell  with  him"  into  an  estate,  the  sinfulness  of  which  "consists 
in  the  guilt  of  Adam's  first  sin,  the  want  of  original  righteous- 
ness, and  the  corruption  of  his  whole  nature,  which  is  commonly 
called  original  sin." 

In  Adam's  sin,  there  were  four  several  things,  which  it  is 
necessary  carefully  to  distinguish.  These  were, — the  action  of 
apostasy,  or  depravation  of  his  nature, — the  depravity,  or  aver- 
sion from  God,  in  which  that  action  terminated, — the  criminality, 
guilt,  or  desert  of  punishment,  thence  arising ;  and, — the  formal 
act  of  plucking  the  fruit.  This  latter  act,  again,  is  to  be  viewed 
in  two  aspects ; — as  it  was  an  act  personal  to  Adam ;  and  as  it 
was  the  action,  and  constituted  the  publication  and  pledge,  of  the 
apostasy  of  his  nature,  and  seal  of  the  curse  consequent  thereon. 
In  this  latter  respect,  it  is  an  element  in  the  account  of  sin,  which 
stands  on  record  against  the  whole  nature  and  race  of  man.  Thus 
viewed,  however,  its  criminality  is  not  distinguishable  from  that 
of  the  apostasy,  of  which  it  was  the  consummation  and  first  fruit. 
The  act  of  apostasy,  as  it  was  the  embrace  of  depravity, — the 
cause  of  the  corruption  of  man's  nature, — will  come  to  be  con- 
sidered in  the  next  chapters,  in  connection  with  the  discussion 
of  original  sin  inherent.  That  with  which  we  have  now  to  do 
is,  the  guilt  of  the  apostasy.  The  doctrine  which  we  derive  from 
the  Scriptures  on  the  subject  is,  that  we  were  so  in  Adam  that 
we  share  in  the  moral  responsibility  of  his  apostasy,  as  really  as 
though  we  had  wrought  it  for  ourselves,  personally,  and  severally ; 
and  that  in  consequence  we  are  guilty,  and  condemned  under 
the  curse,  at  the  bar  of  God's  infinite  justice.  Of  the  evidence 
in  support  of  this  doctrine,  we  have  already  given  a  large  illus- 
tration, and,  we  trust,  established  it  by  the  testimony  of  the 
Scriptures. 

The  rejection  of  our  doctrine  leaves  but  one  alternative, — the 
denial  that  we  have  any  thing  to  do  with  Adam's  sin;  or  a 
2 2.  Edwards'  choice  between  the  mediate  and  Arminian  theories. 
mediate  impu-  Of  these,  the  former  is  held  by  Edwards.  He  takes 
the  ground  that  we  were  not  natively  one  with  Adam, 
in  any  such  sense,  as  to  involve  the  derivation  from  him  of 


476  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvi. 

qualities  and  relations;  since,  not  only  are  we  new  and  distinct 
creations,  at  each  instant,  emanating,  by  a  perpetually  creative 
agency,  from  the  immediate  hand  of  God, — but,  in  particular, 
the  phenomena  of  generation  are  nothing  but  the  established 
order  in  which,  by  such  an  immediate  agency,  he  brings  into 
existence  both  body  and  soul.  Yet,  by  the  assertion  of  his 
"arbitrary  sovereignty,"  God  has  put  forth  a  constitution  by 
which  the  state  of  the  case,  simply  and  absolutely  considered,  is 
set  aside,  and  we  are  constituted  one  with  him.  This  constituted 
oneness,  however,  does  not  immediately  and  fully  bind  us  in  the 
guilt  of  the  first  sin ;  but  only  involves  us  in  depravity  of  nature. 
The  action  of  this  depravity,  constituting  in  us  a  corrupt  assent 
to  the  first  sin  of  Adam,  becomes  at  length  the  ground  of  the 
imputation  of  the  sin  to  us.  He  says,  "The  first  being  of  an 
evil  disposition  in  the  heart  of  a  child  of  Adam,  whereby  he  is 
disposed  to  approve  of  the  sin  of  his  first  father,  as  fully  as  he  him- 
self approved  of  it,  when  he  committed  it,  or  so  far  as  to  imply 
a  full  and  perfect  consent  of  heart  to  it)  I  think  is  not  to  be 
looked  upon  as  a  consequence  of  the  imputation  of  that  first  sin, 
any  more  than  the  full  consent  of  Adam's  own  heart,  in  the  act 
of  sinning ;  which  was  not  consequent  on  the  imputation  of  his  sin 
to  himself,  but  rather  prior  to  it  in  the  order  of  nature.  Indeed, 
the  derivation  of  the  evil  disposition  to  the  hearts  of  Adam's 
posterity,  or  rather  the  coexistence  of  the  evil  disposition  im- 
plied in  Adam's  first  rebellion,  in  the  root  and  branches,  is  a 
consequence  of  the  union  that  the  wise  author  of  the  world  has 
established  between  Adam  and  his  posterity;  but  not  properly  a 
consequence  of  the  imputation  of  his  sin ;  nay,  rather  antecedent 
to  it,  as  it  was  in  Adam  himself.  The  first  depravity  of  heart,  and 
the  imputation  of  that  sin,  are  both  the  consequences  of  that  esta- 
blished union ;  but  yet  in  such  order,  that  the  evil  disposition  is 
first,  and  the  charge  of  guilt  consequent;  as  it  was  in  the  case 
of  Adam  himself."  Again,  in  reply  to  the  objection  that  sor- 
row and  shame  are  for  personal  sin  alone,  he  says,  "Nor  is  it 
a  thing  strange  and  unheard-of,  that  men  should  be  ashamed  of 
things  done  by  others  whom  they  are  nearly  concerned  in.  I 
am  sure  it  is  not  unscriptural ;  especially  when  they  are  justly 


sect,  ii.]  Original  Sin  Imputed.  477 

looked  upon  in  the  sight  of  God,  who  sees  the  disposition  of  their 
hearts,  as  fully  consenting  and  concurring.  From  what  has  been 
observed,  it  may  appear,  there  is  no  sure  ground  to  conclude,  that 
it  must  be  an  absurd  and  impossible  thing  for  the  race  of  man- 
kind truly  to  partake  of  the  sin  of  the  first  apostasy;  so  as  that 
this,  in  reality  and  propriety,  shall  become  their  sin ;  by  virtue 
of  a  real  union  between  the  root  and  branches  of  the  world  of 
mankind,  (truly  and  properly  availing  to  such  a  consequence,) 
established  by  the  author  of  the  whole  system  of  the  universe; 
to  whose  establishments  is  owing  all  propriety  and  reality  of 
union,  in  any  part  of  that  system; — and  by  virtue  of  the  full  con- 
sent of  the  hearts  of  Adam's  posterity  to  that  first  apostasy. 
And  therefore  the  sin  of  the  apostasy  is  not  theirs,  merely  be- 
cause God  imputes  it  to  them ;  but  it  is  truly  and  properly  theirs, 
and  on  that  ground  God  imputes  it  to  them."  Again: — "The 
affair  of  the  derivation  of  the  natural  corruption  of  mankind,  in 
general,  and  of  their  consent  to,  and  participation  of,  the  primi- 
tive and  common  apostasy,  is  not  in  the  least  intermeddled  with, 
or  touched,  by  any  thing  meant  or  aimed  at  in  the  true  scope 
and  design  of  this  place  of  Ezekiel,"  (Ezek.  xviii.  1-20).  So  he 
speaks  of  the  teachings  of  the  word  of  God,  "  concerning  the 
derivation  of  a  depravity  and  guilt  from  Adam  to  his  posterity."* 
In  the  latter  of  these  places,  the  order  of  enumeration  implies 
what  the  others  assert, — an  imputation  of  the  guilt  of  the  first 
sin,  because  of  the  corrupt  nature  which  in  us  actually  approves 
the  deed.  That  such  was  the  doctrine  of  Edwards  on  the  sub- 
ject, is  unquestionable.  He  not  only  thus  again  and  again  asserts 
it,  and  weaves  it  into  his  argument,  but  quotes  and  adopts  the 
language  of  Stapfer,  which  is  confessedly  at  variance  with  the 
received  doctrine  of  the  Reformed  on  this  point. 

This  doctrine  of  mediate  imputation — although  it,  or  some- 
thing similar,  is  practically  inevitable,  upon  the  adoption  of  Ed- 
wards' theory  of  identity — is  logically  irreconcilable  with  that 
theory.  If  there  be  in  truth  no  real  identity  in  things,  except 
by  the  arbitrary  process  which  he  designates  by  the  phrase, 
"divine  constitution," — and  if  by  such  a  constitution  we  and 

*  All  these  passages  are  from  the  treatise  on  Original  Sin,  Part  IV.  ch.  3. 


478  T/ie  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvi. 

Adam  are  one, — it  follows,  that  in  the  same  sense  precisely  in 
which  the  sin  of  eating  the  forbidden  fruit  was  subsequently 
chargeable  on  the  Adam  who  was  excluded  from  the  garden,  it 
is  chargeable  on  us.  "Simply  and  absolutely  considered,"  he 
that  was  driven  forth  with  his  weeping  wife,  under  the  terrors 
of  the  curse,  was  not  the  same,  who  had  committed  the  fatal 
deed,  any  more  than  are  we.  And  the  "divine  constitution," — 
which  was  effectual  to  justify  the  assumption  of  identity  in  the 
innumerable  series  of  individuals,  who  by  the  creative  power 
were  made  the  fleeting  succession,  and  by  sovereignty  constituted 
the  personal  unit,  the  first  Adam, — was  equally  competent  to 
constitute  us  one  with  him ;  and,  as  one,  immediately  responsible 
for  his  deed.  But,  although  Edwards  was  ensnared  by  the  sub- 
tlety of  his  own  philosophy,  his  soul  instinctively  recoiled  from 
his  conclusions,  and  uttered  an  unapprehended  but  powerful 
protest  against  the  sufficiency  of  his  plea, — against  the  adequacy 
of  a  system,  which  based  the  whole  tremendous  consequences, 
which  are  involved  in  original  sin,  upon  a  ground  so  unreal,  as 
a  divine  constitution,  transforming  the  facts,  and  making  things 
to  be  identical,  which  were  essentially  and  by  creation  several 
and  distinct.  He  therefore  has  recourse  to  the  notion  of  mediate 
imputation,  to  release  himself  from  the  difficulties  which  his 
theory  had  created.  He  thus  relieves  his  consciousness,  respect- 
ing the  relation  of  the  scheme  which  he  had  contrived  to  the 
principles  of  divine  justice,  at  the  expense  of  his  own  consistency, 
and  of  the  doctrine  which  he  had  set  himself  to  defend.  Such 
was  the  consequence  in  Edwards'  case; — and  such,  or  like  it, 
will  be  the  result,  whenever  and  wherever  the  attempt  is  made  to 
vindicate  the  doctrine  of  original  sin  by  recourse  to  any  system 
of  arbitrary  constructions  or  legal  intendments, — by  any  thing 
short  of  a  real  and  native  inbeing  of  Adam's  posterity  in  him, 
as  the  root  and  cause  of  the  race. 

The  mediate  theory  is,  in  fact,  a  mere  modification  of  the  Ar- 
minian  doctrine, — essentially  the  same,  and  differing  merely  in 
phraseology.  They  agree  in  overlooking  or  denying  Adam's 
causative  relation  to  the  race,  as  bearing  upon  the  doctrine  of 
imputation, — in  denying  any  proper  oneness  between  Adam  and 


sect,  ii.]  Original  Sin  Imputed.  479 

us, — any  communion  of  his  seed  in  the  crime  of  his  transgres- 
sion. They  agree  in  holding  us  to  be  involved  in  certain  evils, 
in  consequence  of  Adam's  sin;  and  in  denying  them  to  be  the 
penalty  which  attaches  to  actual  sin ;  although  some  of  them,  as 
Whitby  and  the  Remonstrants,  speak  of  them  as  penal  evils, — 
the  punishment  of  Adam's  sin.  They  agree  in  holding  that  cri- 
minality, in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word,  first  arises  out  of 
active  depravity;  and  they  commonly  concur  in  denying  that 
the  infinite  wrath  and  curse  of  God  is  fully  incurred,  until  de- 
pravity has  brought  forth  fruit  in  actual  sins.  The  only  real 
difference  is,  as  to  the  manner  in  which,  to  save  appearances,  the 
word,  imputation,  is  introduced  into  the  two  several  systems. 
By  the  one,  it  is  used  to  express  the  fact,  that  we,  by  our  own 
sins,  incur  a  like  criminality  and  punishment  with  Adam; — by 
the  other,  to  express  the  liability  to  temporal  evils,  which  at- 
taches to  us,  on  account  of  the  first  sin. 

The  Arminian  doctrine  is  thus  stated  and  vindicated  by  Gro- 
tius  in  his  commentary  on  Romans  v.  12 : — "'In  whom  all  have 
g 3.  Arminian  sinned.'  It  is  a  common  metonymy  among  the 
theory.  Hebrews  to  use  the  word  'sin'  instead  of  'punish- 

ment,' and  'to  sin'  instead  of  'to  undergo  a  penalty;'  whence,  by 
metalepsis,  still  farther  extending  the  figure,  they  are  said  to  sin, 
who  bear  any  evil,  even  without  fault;  as  Gen.  xxxi.  36,  and  Job 
vi.  24,  where  Nttn,  to  sin,  is  translated  by  duarrpayecv,  to  svffer 
adverse  fortune.  E<p'  to  in  quo  here  means,  through  whom,  as  mi 
is  taken  with  the  dative  in  Luke  v.  5 ;  Acts  iii.  16 ;  1  Cor.  viii.  11 ; 
Heb.  ix.  17.  Chrysostom  on  this  place  says,  'He  falling,  they 
also  who  did  not  eat  of  the  tree  were  all  by  him  rendered  mortal.' " 
On  verse  19  he  says,  "Here  again  is  a  metonymy.  They  were 
so  treated  as  though  they  had  actually  sinned ;  that  is,  they  were 
subjected  to  death.  So  the  word,  'sinner,'  is  used  in  1  Kings  i. 
21,  and  elsewhere."* 

The  same  theory  is  more  largely  defended  by  Whitby.  After 
citing  and  rejecting,  in  turn,  the  suppositions,  that  we  actually 
and  formally  sinned  in  Adam ;  and,  that  we  are  made  sinners  by 
the  act  of  the  imputation  of  Adam's  sin;  he  says,  "  I  am  forced 

*  Grotii  Anuotationes,  in  loco. 


480  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvi. 

to  prefer  before  them,  that  of  the  Greek  fathers ;  viz.  that  we 
all  sinned  in  Adam,  i.e.,  by  becoming  obnoxious  to  that  death 
which  was  the  punishment  of  his  sin ;  and,  that  '  by  one  man's 
disobedience  many  were  made  sinners,'  by  being  subject  to  the 
death  and  temporal  calamities  and  miseries  which  came  upon 
all  mankind  for  Adam's  sin ;  so  that  we  become  sinners  in  him, 
or  by  his  disobedience,  by  a  metonymy  of  the  effect,  by  suffering 
the  punishment  which  God  had  threatened  to  him  for  it,  as  the 
experience  of  all  men  and  women  show  we  do,  in  all  the  parts 
of  the  threat ;  and  this  is  a  common  sense  of  the  word,  Nttn, 
which  signifies  both  sin  and  the  punishment  of  it.  So  Gen.  iv.  7 : 
— '  If  thou  dost  evil,  nxtan  sin  lieth  at  the  door,' — that  is,  the 
punishment  of  sin,  ver.  13;  so  Gen.  xix.  15,  'Make  haste,' 
saith  the  angel  to  Lot,  '  and  escape,  lest  thou  be  consumed  t\i?3 
in  the  sin  of  the  city,'  that  is,  in. the  punishment  of  the  city,  in 
plaga  descendente  propter  culpam  incolarum  urbis,  Arab. ;  and 
Gen.  xxxi.  39,  Jacob  speaks  to  Laban  thus,  '  That  which  was 
torn  of  beasts,  ruanx  ojx,  eyd)  axorivwov,  pcenas  dabam,  I  suffered 
for  it;'  the  sin  was  upon  me,  saith  Aben  Ezra;  Gen.  xliii.  9, 
Judah  speaks  thus  to  Jacob  concerning  Benjamin,  '  If  I  bring 
him  not  again,  ~fr  'nxani,  rjpapTcxaJZ  laopat  ei<;  ak\  i.e.  '  I  will 
suffer  punishment;'  see  chapter  xlii.  37;  i.e.  'let  me  bear  the 
blame ;'  so,  also,  chapter  xliv.  32 ;  so  Bathsheba  said  to  David, 
'  I  and  my  son  Solomon  shall  be  o'Ntan,  kpapnoloi,  sinners,' 
1  Kings  i.  21 ;  i.e.  we  shall  be  punished  as  sinners,  and  be  in 
danger  of  our  life ;  so  wywv  xS;  impium  non  faciet,  '  he  will 
not  condemn  him,'  Psalm  xxxvii.  33 ;  lytyv  "pj  oil,  et  sanguinem 
innocentem  condemnabunt,  Psalm  xciv.  21;  so,  also,  Job  ix.  20; 
so  the  lepers  say  one  to  another,  '  We  do  not  well  if  we  tarry 
till  the  morning  light;  then  we  shall  be  found  sinners,'  2  Kings 
vii.  9;  i.e.  we  shall  be  punished  by  the  king;  and  Zech.  xiv.  19, 
'  This  shall  be  D"TCD  nxtan,  hpapr'ia  AIjutizou,  the  punishment  of 
Egypt,  and  the  punishment  of  all  nations  that  come  not 
up  to  keep  the  feast  of  tabernacles.'  This  phrase  of  bearing 
sin  is  constantly  used  in  this  sense ;  as  when  it  is  said,  Nty  irj,'n, 
'they  shall  bear  their  iniquity,  they  shall  die,'  Lev.  xx.  20;  and, 
dpapzcau  xopuouvvai,  dnoioovzcu,  Lev.  xx.  17,  19;  Num.  xiv.  34, 


sect,  in.]  Original  Sin  Imputed.  481 

X'ji/'sads  kpapziac,  upa>v,  Lam.  v.  7,  uxkoyopzv  zd  dvopyjpa  za 
abzwv,  '  we  have  borne  their  iniquity.'  ...  It  is  true,  we  meet 
not  with  the  words  fjpapzbv  and  dpapzcoloi  xazsazadyaav,  in  this 
sense,  elsewhere  in  the  New  Testament;  but  then  this  may  be  be- 
cause the  comparison  is  not  elsewhere  made  betwixt  the  first  Adam 
and  the  effects  of  his  disobedience,  and  the  second  Adam  and 
the  effects  of  his  obedience  to  the  death ;  and  because  the  oppo- 
site phrase,  dcxaioc  Trazeaddqaav,  required  that  the  words  opposed 
should  be  used  in  the  metonymical  sense ;  for  when  the  apostle 
saith,  '  By  the  obedience  of  one  man  many  were  made  righteous,' 
it  is  evident  he  spoke  not  of  Christ's  active  obedience,  but  of  his 
passive  obedience,  or  suffering  death  for  us.  For,  1.  The  whole 
chapter  is  employed  in  setting  forth  the  benefits  accruing  to  us 
by  his  death,  ver.  6,  8-11.  2.  The  effect  of  this  obedience  is, 
our  justification ;  now,  that,  through  the  whole  Scripture,  and  in 
this  very  chapter,  is  constantly  ascribed  to  the  death  of  Christ, 
and  his  blood  shed  for  us,  ver.  9,  10,  16-18.  3.  The  disobe- 
dience, by  which  many  were  made  sinners,  is  plainly  declared 
by  the  apostle  to  be-  one  single  act  of  disobedience  in  Adam,  and 
therefore  the  obedience  opposed  to  it  cannot,  in  reason,  be  the 
active  obedience  of  Christ's  whole  life,  but  that  obedience  to  the 
death  which  the  apostle  mentions,  Phil.  ii.  6,  8.  Now,  by  this 
passive  obedience,  we  cannot  be  made  formally  righteous,  but 
only  metonymically,  by  being  made  partakers  of  that  freedom 
from  the  condemnation  and  guilt  of  sin,  and  that  reconciliation, 
which  Christ  purchased  by  his  meritorious  death  and  passion."* 
I  4.  This  the-  In  reference  to  these  arguments,  the  remarks  of 
ory untenable.  Witsius  are  appropriate: — "  Grotius  really  prevari- 
cates when  he  thus  comments  on  the  passage  before  us : — '  It 
is  a  common  metonymy  in  the  Hebrew  to  use  the  word,  sin,  in- 
stead of  punishment ;  and,  to  sin,  instead  of,  to  undergo  punish- 
ment ;  whence,  extending  this  figure,  they  are  said  by  a  meta- 
lepsis,  N^n,  to  sin,  who  suffer  any  evil,  though  they  are  innocent ; 
as  Gen.  xxxi.  36 ;  Job  vi.  24.' 

"  This  illustrious  person  seems  to  have  wrote  without  atten- 
tion, as  the  whole  is  very  impertinent.     (1.)  Though  we  allow  that 

*  Whitby's  Commentary  on  Romans  v.  19. 
31 


482  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvi. 

sin  does  sometimes  metonymically  denote  the  punishment  of  sin ; 
yet  we  deny  it  to  be  usual  in  Scripture,  that  he  who  undergoes 
punishment,  even  while  innocent,  may  be  said  to  sin.  Grotius 
says  it  is  frequent ;  but  he  neither  does  nor  can  prove  it  by  any 
one  example;  which  is  certainly  bold  and  rash.  Crellius,  con- 
futing his  book  on  the  Satisfaction  of  Christ,  brings  in  the  saying 
of  Bathsheba  to  David : — '  I  and  my  son  Solomon  shall  be 
counted  offenders,' — that  is,  says  he,  we  shall  be  treated  as 
offenders,  or  be  ruined.  But  a  sinner,  or  even  sin,  and  to  sin, 
are  different  things.  The  former  is  said  of  Christ,  (2  Cor.  v.  21 ;) 
but  not  the  latter,  on  any  account.  Moreover,  to  be  a  sinner, 
does  not  signify,  in  the  passage  alleged,  to  undergo  punishment 
without  any  regard  to  a  fault  or  demerit;  but  to  be  guilty 
of  aiming  at  the  kingdom,  and  of  high  treason,  and  as  such  to 
be  punished.  .  .  .  (2.)  Though  we  should  grant,  which  yet  we 
do  not,  in  the  least,  that  to  sin,  sometimes  denotes,  to  undergo 
punishment;  yet  it  cannot  signify  this,  here ;  because  the  apostle, 
in  this  place,  immediately  distinguishes  between  death  as  the 
punishment,  and  sin  as  the  meritorious  cause ;  '  death  by  sin.' 
And,  by  this  interpretation  of  Grotius,  the  apostle's  discourse, 
which  we  have  already  shown  is  solid,  would  be  an  insipid  tau- 
tology. For,  where  is  the  sense  to  say,  '  So  death  passed  upon 
all,  through  whom  all  die'  ?  .  .  .  (4.)  It  cannot  be  explained  con- 
sistently with  divine  justice,  how,  without  a  crime,  death  should 
have  passed  upon  Adam's  posterity.  Prosper  reasoned  solidly 
and  elegantly  against  Collator,  '  Unless,  perhaps,  it  can  be  said 
that  the  punishment,  and  not  the  guilt,  passed  on  the  posterity 
of  Adam ;  but  to  say  this  is  in  every  respect  false.  For  it  is 
too  impious  to  judge  so  of  the  justice  of  God :  as  if  he  would, 
contrary  to  his  own  law,  condemn  the  innocent  with  the  guilty. 
The  guilt,  therefore,  is  evident  where  the  punishment  is  so ;  and 
a  partaking  in  punishment  shows  a  partaking  in  guilt ;  that 
human  misery  is  not  the  appointment  of  the  Creator,  but  the 
retribution  of  the  Judge.'  If,  therefore,  through  Adam  all  are 
obnoxious  to  punishment,  all,  too,  must  have  sinned  in  Adam."* 
Witsius  is   slightly  inaccurate,  in  the  statement  which  he 

*  Witsius  on  the  Covenants,  Book  I.  chap.  viii.  33,  34. 


sect,  iv.]  Original  Sin  Imputed.  483 

makes  in  the  same  place,  that  in  Genesis  xxxi.  36,  and  Job  vi. 
24,  to  which  Grotius  appeals,  "neither  in  the  Hebrew  do  we  find 
KBn,  to  sin,  nor  in  the  Greek  version,  dua-payscv."  In  Genesis 
xxxi.  36,  Non  is  in  the  Hebrew;  but  is  rendered  in  the  Greek 
version  by  dipdprqfid,  not  ooo-payeiv;  and  in  the  English  by 
"sin;"  which  is  undoubtedly  correct,  'rwtsn  nn  "What  is  my 
sin  ?"  The  words  do  not  occur  in  the  place  in  Job ;  nor  is  there 
any  thing,  in  either  case,  to  sustain  the  assertions  of  Grotius. 

No  modification  of  the  Arminian  interpretation  is  at  all  recon- 
cilable with  the  design  and  argument  of  the  apostle.  It  is  said 
that  in  the  text  of  Paul  the  word,  sinned,  is  equivalent  to,  being 
rendered  mortal, — "being  so  treated,  as  if  they  had  actually 
sinned," — being  subjected  to  the  penalty  of  the  law.  These  ex- 
pressions are  all  mere  periphrases  for  subjection  to  death,  the 
wages  of  sin.  If  we  arbitrarily  limit  this  definition  to  the  verb, 
sinned,  and  allow  the  noun  to  retain  its  proper  meaning,  the 
passage  will  then  stand  thus : — "  As  by  one  man  sin  entered  into 
the  world,  and  death  by  sin,  and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men, 
because  (or  in  whom)  all  are  subject  to  death."  Or,  if  we  sub- 
stitute either  of  the  explanatory  phrases,  the  result  is  equally 
objectionable.  The  infliction  of  death  is  the  endurance  of  the 
penalty, — the  being  treated  as  sinners.  Thus,  then,  the  apostle 
will  read,  "  By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death 
by  sin,  and  so  all  men  were  treated  as  sinners,  because  all  men 
were  treated  as  sinners." 

If  we  should  substitute  the  periphrasis  instead  of  the  noun, 
sin,  as  well  as  the  verb, — and  the  discrimination  between  them 
is  altogether  arbitrary, — the  result  would  be,  still  more  utterly 
to  confound  the  argument  of  the  apostle.  The  very  thing  for 
which  he  professes  to  account  is  the  fact  that  stands  out  on  the 
whole  page  of  history  and  of  Scripture, — that  all  men  are  under 
the  curse, — that  they  are  treated  as  sinners.  The  problem  which 
he  professes  to  solve,  is,  Why  this  treatment?  And  when  to 
this  question  he  replies  in  the  most  unambiguous  terms,  and  in  a 
variety  of  phraseology,  interwoven  into  a  closely  wrought  argu- 
ment, that  it  is  for  sin, — that  "to  all  men  death  passed  through 
him  in  whom  all  sinned;"  or,  if  the  other  rendering  be  preferred, 


484  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvi. 

"because  all  sinned," — shall  we,  instead  of  accepting  the  suffi- 
cient and  conclusive  reason  thus  given,  so  interpret  the  apostle's 
argument  as  to  reduce  him  to  an  imbecile  repetition  of  the  fact 
which  he  is  professedly  accounting  for?  "All  men  are  treated 
as  sinners,  because  all  men  are  treated  as  sinners!"  The  whole 
argument  of  the  apostle,  as  is  unanimously  agreed  by  orthodox 
commentators,  and  cannot  be  successfully  questioned,  is  from  the 
universal  prevalence  of  the  curse  to  the  universality  of  sin — not 
of  individual  transgressions,  but  of  the  one  sin  by  which  death 
reigns  over  all.  His  fundamental  proposition — which  he  does 
not  attempt  to  prove,  but  assumes  as  unquestionable — is,  that 
whenever  a  man  is  treated  as  a  sinner  he  really  is  one.  He  con- 
cludes that,  since  all  are  so  treated,  all,  then,  are  sinners ;  hence, 
all  need  the  salvation  of  Christ. 

The  argument  from  the  use  of  the  word,  sin,  to  express  the 
punishment  of  sin,  when  duly  considered,  so  far  from  establish- 
1 5.  Use  of  the  ing  the  Arminian  doctrine,  is  conclusively  against  it. 
word,  sin.  Although  in  the  Old  Testament  there  are  a  number 
of  words  used  to  indicate  punishment,  there  is  none  which,  of 
itself,  expresses  the  idea  of  punition, — of  evil  inflicted  for  the 
satisfaction  of  violated  law.  In  many  instances  the  idea  is  con- 
veyed by  suggestion.  Thus,  in  Amos  i.  3: — "For  three  trans- 
gressions of  Damascus,  and  for  four,  I  will  not  turn  it  away;" 
that  is,  I  will  not  prevent  the  punishment.  Job  xxxi.  28: — 
"This  also  were  an  iniquity  for  the  judge."  Sometimes  it  is 
expressed  by,  Dp  J, — vengeance;  expressing  satisfaction  to  violated 
personal  rights,  rather  than  to  the  claims  of  law.  See  Deut. 
xxxii.  35 ;  Ps.  cxlix.  7 ;  Neh.  i.  2,  &c.  Again,  ">?;,  is  sometimes 
translated  "to  punish;"  but  the  word  expresses,  not  penal,  but 
disciplinary,  inflictions,  designed  for  the  correction  and  recovery 
of  the  subject  of  them.  Comp.  Lev.  xxvi.  18,  28,  44,  45,  with 
Ps.  xvi.  7,  &c.  "Words  expressive  of  the  form  of  the  infliction 
are  also  used  to  indicate  punishment;  as,  rPJ, — to  smite, — Lev. 
xxvi.  24;  to'tf*, — a  scourge, — Isa.  x.  26. 

The  most  frequent  form  in  which  punishment  is  indicated,  is, 
by  using  some  word  expressive  of  sin.  It  is  this  characteristic 
of  the  Hebrew  language  to  which  Grotius  and  Whitby  have 


sect,  iv.]  Original  Sin  Imjputed.  485 

•eference,  in  the  arguments  by  which  they  attempt  to  show  the 
word,  sin,  to  mean,  punishment.  But  sin  is  not  in  any  instance 
used  to  express  the  infliction  of  evil  upon  those  to  whom  crime 
is  not  attributed.  The  contrary  of  this  is  asserted  by  Grotius; 
and  he  very  strangely  cites  Gen.  xxxi.  36 : — "  And  Jacob  answered 
and  said  to  Laban,  What  is  my  trespass?  what  is  my  sin?" — 
and  Job  vi.  24: — "Cause  me  to  understand  wherein  I  have 
erred."  It  is  true,  Jacob  and  Job  were  innocent,  in  the  matters 
at  issue;  but  it  is  of  real  sin, — of  real  errors, — that  they  predi- 
cate the  demand  for  proof.  It  cannot  be  pretended  that  their 
challenges  had  respect  to  any  thing  else  than  false  accusations  of 
real  crime.  Jacob  certainly  does  not  mean  to  ask,  "What  is  my 
punishment?"  The  fact  that  such  a  writer  as  Grotius  is  unable 
to  produce  any  better  evidence,  is  proof  conclusive  that  there  is 
none;  that  the  words  which  signify,  sin,  are  never  used  to 
express  an  infliction  of  evil,  unless  crime  is  attributed  to  the 
victim. 

In  no  case,  in  fact,  does  the  word,  sin,  properly  mean,  punish- 
ment; but,  in  all  circumstances,  it  retains  its  own  proper  signi- 
ficance; and  intimates  punishment,  not  directly,  but  implicitly. 
The  principle  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  the  entire  practice  of  the 
Scripture,  on  this  subject,  is,  that  in  every  sin  there  is  essentially 
involved  demerit  or  guilt,  for  which  there  must  be  satisfaction, 
to  the  penal  sanction  of  the  law.  Hence,  to  charge  sin  upon  a 
party,  is,  to  imply,  inevitably  and  by  the  force  of  the  facts,  the 
certainty  of  punishment.  And  so  inseparable  is  the  recognised 
relation  between  the  sin  and  punishment,  that  the  latter  can 
only  be  removed  by  taking  away  the  sin  itself.  Hence,  the 
Psalmist  sings,  "Blessed  is  he  whose  transgression  is  forgiven, 
(Heb.  taken  away,)  whose  sin  is  covered." — Ps.  xxxii.  1.  That 
our  statement,  respecting  the  manner  in  which  punishment  is, 
in  the  Bible,  indicated  by  the  word,  sin,  is  correct,  will  appear 
from  the  fact,  that  the  punitive  sense  is  not  limited  to  any  one 
word ;  but,  according  to  the  idiom  of  the  Hebrew  language,  may 
be  expressed  by  any  word,  which  indicates  sin.  Thus,  p'#  is  used 
in  Gen.  iv.  13;  Lev.  xxvi.  41,  43;  Job  xix.  29,  &c.rw*Bn,  in  Lam. 
iii.  39,  iv.  6;  Zech.  xiv.  19.     jn;s,  in  Ex.  xxiii.  21;  Ps.  xxxii.  1. 


486  The  Elolum  Revealed.  [chap.  xvi. 

Dt?x;  Ps.  v.  10,  xxxiv.  21,  22.  Examples  to  the  same  effect  might 
be  multiplied  indefinitely. 

No  more  appropriate  scriptures  could  be  chosen,  for  the  illus- 
tration of  our  doctrine,  than  those  cited  by  Grotius  and  Whitby. 
Gen.  iv.  7: — "If  thou  dost  evil,  sin  lieth  at  the  door;" — sin,  and 
for  it  satisfaction  must  be  made.  Gen.  xxxi.  39: — "That  which 
was  torn  of  beasts,  the  sin  was  upon  me;" — whether  it  was 
through  a  greater  or  less  neglect,  I  bore  the  responsibility,  and 
satisfied  for  it.  The  citations  from  Job  ix.  20,  Psalm  xxxvii.  33, 
and  xciv.  21,  are  impertinent.  2  Kings  vii.  9: — "We  do  not 
well  if  we  tarry  till  the  morning  light;  then  we  shall  sin;"  to 
wit,  against  the  lives  of  Israel,  shut  up  in  Samaria.  Zech.  xiv. 
19: — "This  shall  be  the  sin  of  Egypt,  and  the  sin  of  all  the 
nations  that  come  not  up  to  keep  the  feast  of  tabernacles;" — ■ 
that  is,  the  plagues  threatened  shall  be  according  to  the  measure 
of  their  sin,  and  satisfaction  for  it. 

In  respect  to  the  use  of  the  word,  sinner,  in  the  places  quoted 
by  Whitby,  there  are  two  things  to  be  considered.  The  first  is, 
that  whilst  the  noun,  sin,  and  its  derivatives,  to  sin,  and,  a  sin- 
ner, in  their  strict  acceptation,  have  respect  to  the  law  of  God, 
— the  rule  of  divine  morality, — they  are  sometimes  in  the 
Scriptures,  and  frequently  elsewhere,  appropriated  to  express 
deflection  from  any  specified  principle  or  rule  of  action.  Thus 
we  say  that  he  who  assumes  to  himself  the  entire  conversation, 
sins  against  the  rules  of  propriety.  This  language  intimates  no 
moral  delinquency ;  but  merely  a  violation  of  the  laws  of  good 
breeding.  So,  when  Judah  says  to  his  father,  "Send  the  lad 
with  me,  and  we  will  arise  and  go ;  that  we  may  live,  and  not 
die,  both  we,  and  thou,  and  also  our  little  ones.  I  will  be  surety 
for  him ;  of  my  hand  shalt  thou  require  him.  If  I  bring  him 
not  unto  thee,  and  set  him  before  thee,  then  let  me  be  to  thee  a 
sinner  forever," — Gen.  xliii.  8,  9; — not  only  does  the  whole  tenor 
of  the  place  indicate  that  the  word,  sinner,  is  to  be  understood 
in  a  restricted  sense;  but  it  very  distinctly  indicates  what  that 
sense  is.  Judah  states  to  his  father  a  rule  of  duty  and  obliga- 
tion, according  to  which  he  engages  to  act.  He  appoints  his 
father  to  be  judge  in  the  case;  and  engages  to  abide  by  the  de- 


sect,  v.]  Original  Sin  Imputed.  487 

cision  which  he  shall  give.  Thus,  the  transaction  does  not  have 
respect  at  all  to  the  divine  law,  and  moral  delinquency,  but  to 
the  proposed  covenant  with  his  father;  and  accordingly  he  does 
not  say,  "I  will  be  a  sinner;"  but,  "I  will  be  to  thee  a  sinner." 
In  a  certain  place,  Paul  says  respecting  unknown  tongues,  "If 
I  know  not  the  meaning  of  the  voice,  I  shall  be  unto  him  that 
speaketh,  a  barbarian,  and  he  that  speaketh  shall  be  a  barbarian 
unto  me." — 1  Cor.  xiv.  11.  Were  an  expositor,  in  discussing 
the  narrative  of  Paul's  shipwreck  and  entertainment  by  the 
barbarous  people  of  Melita,  to  appeal  to  this  place,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  proving  that  the  words,  barbarian,  and,  barbarous 
people,  were  not  to  be  understood  in  their  proper  sense,  it  would 
be  very  preposterous.  And  yet,  the  case  in  reference  to  the 
word,  sin,  is  precisely  similar  to  this.  Because  Judah  uses  the 
word,  sinner,  in  respect  to  a  covenant  and  pledge  of  his  own 
proposing  to  his  father,  limiting  the  word  to  the  proposed  trans- 
action, by  the  specific  phrase,  "to  thee," — therefore  the  word, 
when  used  without  limitation  or  modifying  phrase,  in  respect  to 
the  law  of  God  and  the  apostasy  of  man,  must  mean  something 
else  than  literally  it  expresses ! 

The  same  principle  applies  to  the  language  of  Bathsheba. 
The  matter  of  which  she  is  speaking  does  not  have  respect  to 
the  law  of  God ;  but,  to  the  supposition  that,  with  the  tacit  con- 
sent of  David,  Adonijah  should  inherit  the  throne  of  his  father. 
In  this  case,  she  and  Solomon  would  have  been  liable  to  the 
charge  of  treason ;  in  planning  to  divert  the  succession  from  him 
whom  such  a  result  as  that  supposed  would  have  pointed  out 
and  enthroned,  as  the  lawful  heir.  Thus,  she  and  Solomon 
would  have  been  sinners  against  the  authority  and  throne  of 
Adonijah.  The  language  of  Jacob  to  Laban,  already  quoted, 
illustrates  the  same  usage: — "That  which  was  torn  of  beasts, 
the  sin  was  upon  me;" — not  sin  against  God's  law,  but  short- 
coming under  the  contract  between  him  and  Laban,  by  which 
he  was  bound  to  protect  the  flocks. 

The  second  thing  to  be  observed  in  respect  to  the  use  of  the 
word,  sinner,  is,  that,  as  these  very  examples  illustrate,  the  word 
always  indicates  real  deflection  from  a  specified  rule.     The  rule 


The  EloJilm  Revealed.  [chap.  xvi. 

to  which  it  properly  relates  is,  the  law  of  God.  Hence,  when 
applied  in  any  other  way,  it  must  be  accompanied  by  some  in- 
dication of  the  law  to  which  it  has  reference, — by  something  show- 
ing it  to  be  used  in  a  peculiar  sense,  and  not  in  its  proper  appli- 
cation, as  relating  to  the  law  of  God.  In  the  argument  of  Paul, 
it  is  unquestionably  the  law  of  God  which  is  had  in  view.  The 
word,  therefore,  in  that  connection,  designates  violation  of  that 
law ;  that  is,  moral  delinquency. 

The  conclusion,  which  follows  from  all  the  facts  in  the  case, 
is,  that, — so  far  is  it  from  being  true,  that  the  word,  sin,  when 
used  in  relation  to  the  law  of  God,  is  ever  eliminated  of  the  idea 
of  criminality,  and  used  to  express  mere  penal  liability, — directly 
the  reverse  is  true; — the  primary  conception,  always  contained 
in  the  word,  is,  crime, — moral  turpitude.  The  penalty  is  inti- 
mated by  it,  only  inasmuch  as,  in  the  divine  government,  punish- 
ment is  a  necessary  and  universal  concomitant  of  sin.  Further, 
the  fact  is  here  brought  out,  that  so  inseparably  are  sin  and 
punishment  related,  and  so  necessarily  does  the  latter  imply,  and 
grow  out  of,  sin,  that,  in  the  origination  of  the  Hebrew  tongue, 
and  its  adaptation  and  employment  for  the  reception  of  the 
oracles  of  God,  the  divine  Author  of  those  oracles  did  not  think 
proper  to  provide  a  distinct  word,  to  express  punishment.  He 
has  made  the  very  structure  of  the  sacred  language  to  proclaim 
the  fact,  that,  as  there  can  be  no  sin  unpunished,  so,  there  can 
be  no  punishment  where  there  is  no  crime; — the  language 
knows  not  even  how  to  threaten  punishment,  without  uttering 
a  charge  of  sin. 

The  only  way  in  which  we  can  conceive  the  attempt  to  be 
made  to  evade  the  force  of  this  argument,  is  by  the  assumption 
I  6.  Sinners  that,  although  there  must  be  sin  in  order  to  the 
only  punished,  infliction  of  punishment,  it  does  not  necessarily  follow 
that  they  coexist  in  the  same  party.  If  a  creature  is  punished, 
it  implies  that  some  one  has  sinned ;  but  does  not  necessarily 
intimate  the  sufferer  to  be  the  sinner !  To  this  subterfuge  two 
insuperable  objections  may  be  sufficient.  The  first  is,  that,  as 
we  have  seen  already,  the  entire  argument  of  the  apostle  is 
predicated   upon   directly  the  opposite  doctrine;  to  wit,  that 


sect,  vi.]  Original  Sin  Imputed.  489 

wherever  there  is  punishment  it  is  conclusive  proof  of  sin. 
Death  reigned,  from  Adam  to  Moses,  over  all;  therefore,  all 
were  sinners.  The  second  is,  that  it  sweeps  utterly  away  the 
whole  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures  respecting  God's  justice.  The 
doctrine  involved  in  the  justice  of  God,  and  proclaimed  in  his 
word,  is,  that  every  intelligent  creature  shall  be  dealt  with  in 
precise  accordance  with  his  works,  under  the  provisions  contained 
in  the  law,  and  the  covenant  therein  incorporated.  That  law 
provides  that  the  sinner,  and  the  sinner  only,  shall  be  punished, 
and  that  in  precise  proportion  to  the  enormity  of  his  sins.  The 
covenant  engages  that  the  righteous  shall  have  life,  the  favour 
of  God.  We  have  elsewhere  sufficiently  shown  that,  in  this 
matter,  there  is  no  neutral  position  possible, — that  he  who  is  not 
at  variance  with  the  law  is  righteous,  and  he  who  is  not  con- 
formed to  it  is  a  sinner.  The  assumption  here  controverted  is, 
that  he  who  is  not  a  sinner,  at  least  so  far  forth  as  the  matter 
involved  is  concerned,  may  be  visited  with  penal  inflictions ; — 
that  is,  he  who,  by  definition,  is  righteous,  may,  in  violation  of 
the  covenant,  be  visited  with  the  curses  which  the  law  defines 
as  peculiar  to  sin.  The  alternative  is,  the  denial  of  God's  justice, 
or  the  acknowledgment  that  the  sin  of  Adam  is  truly  and 
properly  our  sin.  "  It  cannot  justly  be  imputed  to  us  by  God 
unless  in  some  way  it  was  ours ;  since  '  the  soul  that  sinneth,  it 
shall  die.' — Ezek.  xviii.  4."* 

If  there  is  any  one  principle  which  shines  forth  on  the  pages 
of  the  Scriptures  with  a  light  as  of  the  noonday  sun,  it  is  that 
thus  attested.  It  is,  that  at  the  bar  of  God,  every  man  shall  be 
judged  and  rewarded  in  precise  accordance  with  his  deserts; 
which  certainly  have  respect  to  the  attitude  of  the  soul,  and  its 
affections,  as  well  as  the  actions  of  the  life.  When  the  Scrip- 
tures speak  of  the  justice  of  God,  the  meaning  is  not  obscure  or 
doubtful.  We  are  plainly  and  abundantly  taught  that  the  rule 
of  all  his  judgments  is  his  law,  which  is  the  only  criterion  of 
merit  or  crime ; — that  there  are  but  two  classes  of  cases  recog- 
nised at  his  bar,  viz.,  those  who  are  conformed  to  the  law,  or 
righteous,  and  those  who  are  not  conformed,  and  are,  therefore, 

*  Marckii  Medulla,  Locus  vi.  36. 


490  The  Elohlm  Revealed.  [chap.  xvi. 

criminals  or  sinners; — and  that  God's  justice  consists  in  the 
fact  that  to  these,  severally,  he  will  render  a  reward  appropriate 
and  precisely  proportionate  to  their  desert.  To  the  righteous 
will  be  given  life,  the  blessing  of  the  Lord ;  and  to  the  un- 
righteous, the  rewards  of  their  unrighteousness.  All  this  is  set 
forth  by  the  apostle,  in  the  beginning  of  the  epistle,  as  funda- 
mental to  his  whole  argument.  He  declares  that  he  is  "  sure 
that  the  judgment  of  God  is  according  to  truth,  against  them 
which  commit  such  things ;"  and  insists  that  he  "  will  render  to 
every  man  according  to  his  deeds."  See  Rom.  ii.  2-10.  The 
only  exception  to  the  universal  principle  thus  set  forth  is  the  case 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  his  atoning  work.  And,  unless  we 
are  prepared  to  deny  the  uniqueness  of  the  person  and  work  of 
Christ,  and  the  wonderful  wisdom,  as  well  as  grace,  displayed  in 
the  plan  of  redemption,  we  must  admit  that  this  very  exception 
confirms  and  establishes  the  rule.  In  God's  own  Son,  and  in  him 
only,  shall  innocence  ever  be  visited  with  the  inflictions  appro- 
priate to  crime ;  and  in  his  people,  and  in  them  alone,  shall  sin 
ever  fail  of  the  curse  of  God.  By  the  innocent,  we  mean  those 
who  are  free  from  the  just  impeachment  of  crime.  If  the  word 
has  any  other  meaning,  we  have  failed  to  discover  it.  The  doc- 
trine which  we  oppose  involves  the  confounding  of  all  moral 
distinctions, — the  infliction  on  the  sinless  of  the  punishment  of 
crime, — the  endurance  by  innocence  of  the  curse  of  the  just  and 
holy  One.  If  this  be  so,  then  are  we  forced  to  conclude  that 
there  is  no  essential  difference  between  holiness  and  sin ;  or  else, 
that,  whatever  the  distinction,  the  Lawgiver  and  Judge  of  all 
is  indifferent  to  it.  God's  law  is  fundamental  to  all  we  can 
know  of  his  moral  perfections.  And  if  the  penalty  of  the  law 
can  be  enforced  upon  one  against  whom  there  stands  no  criminal 
charge, — or  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  transgressor  can  escape 
without  satisfaction  to  the  penal  requirements  of  the  law, — then 
are  all  moral  distinctions  obliterated,  and  the  glory  of  God,  the 
great  light  of  the  universe,  is  lost  behind  a  cloud  of  utter  and 
eternal  night. 

The  Arminian  interpretation  is,  in  fact,  not  an  exposition,  but 
a  contradiction,  of   the  apostle.     The  sin  of   which   they  talk 


sect,  vi.]  Original  Sin  Imputed.  491 

— that  is,  Adam's  transgression  so  imputed  to  us  as  to  render 
o  7>  pUn,ig-h.  us  liable  to  the  curse  of  the  law  without  impeach- 
ment without  ing  us  of  criminality  and  charging  upon  us  turpi- 
cn'"e-  tude, — is  not  sin  at  all,  but  a  calamity. 

The  forcible  remarks  of  a  reviewer,  respecting  Dr.  Edward 
Beecher's  figment  of  "apparent  causation,"  are  appropriate  here. 
— "The  principle  itself  is  a  nonentity.  It  is  a  mere  phrase. 
There  is  no  such  thing  as  apparent  causation  in  the  sense  in 
which  he  uses  the  expression.  There  are  different  kinds  of 
causation ;  efficient,  occasional,  instrumental,  and  logical  or 
rational.  ...  In  every  one  of  these  cases  the  causation  is  real, 
though  of  a  very  different  nature.  In  all  we  have  an  antecedent, 
standing  in  the  relation  of  a  sine  qua  non  to  the  effect.  ...  In 
every  case  of  causation  there  is  a  real  connection  between  the 
antecedent  and  consequent,  the  former  being  the  sine  qua  non 
of  the  latter.  Dr.  Beecher  admits  the  apostle  asserts  that  the 
sin  of  Adam  stands  in  a  causal  relation  to  the  condemnation  of 
his  race.  Now,  it  is  one  thing  to  inquire  into  the  nature  of  this 
causal  relation,  and  another  thing  to  deny  it.  The  former  is  to 
explain  Scripture,  the  latter  is  to  contradict  it.  To  say  that  the 
causation  is  merely  apparent,  that  the  sin  of  Adam  'exerted  no 
influence  whatever  on  his  race,'  as  Dr.  Beecher  does,  is  no  ex- 
position, but  a  flat  contradiction,  of  the  apostle's  assertion."*  So, 
precisely,  in  the  present  case.  There  are  sins  of  omission,  and 
sins  of  commission ;  the  sin  of  nature,  and  actual  sins ;  sins  per- 
sonal, and  sins  conjunctive  or  concurrent;  sin  inherent,  and  sin 
imputed.  But  in  all  cases,  the  sin  is  real,  consisting  in  a  real 
deflection  from  the  line  marked  by  the  law ;  in  all  cases,  the  sin 
is  criminal,  and  the  sinner  therefore  liable  to  the  infliction  of 
wrath.  To  talk,  in  respect  to  God's  law,  of  a  sin  which  is  not  a 
crime,  and  does  not  produce  as  its  first  effect  moral  turpitude,  is 
contradiction  in  terms.  When  therefore  the  apostle  says  we  are 
sinners  in  Adam, — that  we  sinned  in  him,  and  therefore  expe- 
rience the  curse, — to  say  that  the  sin  is  not  in  us  criminal,  but 
that  the  expression  indicates  a  relation  of  mere  liability  to 
punishment,  is  to  contradict  this  scripture,  not  to  expound  it. 

*  Princeton  Review,  1854,  vol.  xxvi.  p.  113. 


492  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvi. 

The  idea  that  we  are  not  really  guilty  of  Adam's  sin,  but  only 
liable  to  be  visited  with  its  penalty,  involves  an  utter  confound- 
ing of  the  proper  distinction  between  the  divine  sovereignty  and 
justice.  The  former  may,  unquestionably,  do  what  it  will  with 
its  own.  But  justice  sits  in  a  court  of  law;  and  regulates  its 
decrees  by  fixed  and  unchangeable  principles.  Its  rule  is  the 
perfect  law  of  God.  Its  requirement  is,  perfect  conformity  to 
that  law,  deflection  from  which  is  sin.  If  the  respondent  at  its 
bar  is  able  to  acquit  himself  of  sin,  he  stands  justified  and  free 
from  penal  infliction.  If  sin  is  by  justice  imputed,  it  is  for  the 
reason  that  sin  is  found  to  be  really  there.  No  man  is  held  to 
answer  for  the  first  sin,  as  it  was  Adam's;  and  if  it  is  not  his 
own,  as  it  is  sin  or  crime,  justice  will  not  account  it  his,  as  it  is 
a  ground  of  condemnation.  In  other  words,  at  the  bar  of  justice, 
things  are  contemplated  in  no  other  light  than  precisely  as  they 
are.  Nothing  is  there  held  as  ground  of  condemnation,  but  sin. 
Nothing  is  recognised  as  sin,  but  deviation  from  the  law.  Every 
deviation,  whether  in  nature  or  person,  is  sin;  and,  as  such,  is 
crime;  and,  therefore,  by  law  and  justice  condemned. 

If  it  be  supposed  that  the  divine  sovereignty  is  competent  to 
constitute  me  liable  to  the  penalty  of  Adam's  transgression,  with- 
out impeaching  me  of  the  very  demerit  of  the  act,  the  question 
at  once  arises,  Why  does  the  word  of  God  point  continually  to 
the  moral  relation  subsisting  between  us  and  Adam,  and  base 
the  process  against  us, — not  upon  the  ultimate  right  of  the 
Creator  as  sovereign, — but  upon  the  ground  of  our  responsi- 
bility at  the  bar  of  justice,  under  the  sanctions  of  law?  The 
whole  aspect  of  the  case  indicates,  that,  the  divine  sovereignty 
having  made  us,  in  Adam, — established  a  righteous  and  most 
excellent  law,  with  its  alternate  sanctions  of  life  and  death, — 
erected  a  tribunal, — and  ordained  justice  to  the  seat  of  judg- 
ment,— the  whole  interests  of  man  are  referred  to  that  tribunal ; 
and  mere  sovereignty  does  not  interpose. 

The  Scriptures  are,  in  fact,  without  a  trace  of  any  such  prin- 
ciple of  divine  government,  as  is  implied  in  an  imputation  for 
punishment,  of  that  which  is  not  in  the  victim  as  sin.  Appeal 
will  be  made  to  the  case  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  bearing  the  sins  of 


sect,  vii.]  Original  Sin  Imputed.  493 

the  world;  although  in  him  was  no  sin.  But  essential  to  this 
case  was  that  divine  authority  by  which  he  had  a  native  supe- 
riority to  the  law,  and  power  over  his  own  life;  and  that  free- 
dom, by  which  he  honoured  the  law,  in  making  himself  a  volun- 
tary subject  to  its  precept  and  curse,  for  us.  It  is  certain,  that 
had  the  sufferings  of  Christ  been  involuntary,  they  would  have 
been  a  violation  of  justice,  instead  of  being  a  signal  display  of 
it.  The  case,  then,  proves  nothing  to  the  present  purpose.  Our 
relation  to  Adam  is  not  pretended  to  be  one  of  voluntary  spon- 
sion and  substitution.  It  does  not,  therefore,  come  under  the 
same  provisions  of  justice  which  concern  the  sufferings  of  Christ. 
The  question  is  not,  what  the  infinite  grace  of  the  infinite  One 
is  competent  to  do,  in  assuming  to  himself  the  punishment  of 
our  sins;  but,  what  the  law  denounces,  and  justice  demands, 
against  creatures  who  are  unwilling  victims  of  its  curse. 

The  parallel  doctrine,  in  which  the  righteousness  of  Christ  is, 
by  free  gift,  made  really  ours,  in  order  to  justification,  renders 
it  necessary  that  Adam's  sin  should  be  really  ours,  in  order  to 
our  being  condemned  in  it.  Whitby  seeks  to  evade  the  force  of 
the  argument,  by  denying  that  the  active  obedience  of  Christ  is 
included  in  the  matter  of  our  justification.  The  logical  con- 
nection of  the  two  elements  of  the  Arminian  system  is  evident; 
and  if  it  be  true  that  we  are  not  clothed  with  Christ's  active 
obedience,  as  well  as  with  the  merits  of  his  sufferings, — if  we 
are  merely  by  his  death  freed  from  the  curse, — it  then,  by 
parity  of  reasoning,  follows,  that  we  are  not  involved  in  the  sin- 
fulness of  Adam's  sin;  but  only  included  in  the  calamity  of  the 
curse,  by  reason  of  his  fall.  It  will,  however,  hereafter  appear, 
that  they  that  are  Christ's  are  invested  with  a  full  and  entire 
property  not  only  in  what  he  has  done  and  suffered,  but  in  all 
that,  as  Mediator,  he  is,  or  possesses.  They  are  not  pardoned, 
but  justified, — not  barely  saved  from  their  native  penury,  but 
clothed  with  all  his  infinite  wealth.  The  bearing  of  all  this,  upon 
our  relation  to  Adam,  is  evident. 

In  fact,  the  whole  question  here  discussed  resolves  itself  into 
this  : — Are  we  deservedly  liable  to  the  penalty  of  Adam's  sin  ? 
And,  if  it  be  admitted  that  we  are,  what  then  means,  deserved 


494  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvi. 

liability?  "What  else  can  it  mean,  than  that  we  are  morally 
criminal  in  the  sin  ?  The  denial  of  this  involves  the  assump- 
tion that  there  is  some  other  standard  of  moral  rectitude  and 
crime  than  the  law  of  God,  and  some  other  tribunal  of  judgment 
than  that  of  justice  decreeing  in  accordance  with  that  law.  It  is 
admitted  that  the  law  denounces  punishment  against  us.  It  is 
admitted  that  the  infliction  is  just.  And  yet  it  is  denied  that 
he  who,  at  the  bar  of  God's  law  and  justice,  is  thus  weighed 
and  found  wanting,  is  morally  criminal ! 

That  our  sin  in  Adam  is  real  sin,  involving  us  truly  in  the 
charge  of  its  moral  criminality,  is  evident  from  the  effects  which 
flow  from  it.  These  are  such  as  attach  to  real  sin,  and  to  that 
only.  They  are  turpitude,  or  moral  corruption ;  guilt,  or  desert 
of  punishment;  and  punishment.  And  our  gravest  objection  to 
the  doctrine  of  constructive  sin  which  we  have  been  examining, 
consists,  not  in  the  exegetical  considerations,  merely,  but  in  the 
fact  that  it  is  logically  incompatible  with  any  doctrine  of  original 
sin  whatever. 

We  have  already  had  occasion  to  observe  a  law  of  represen- 
tation which  runs  through  the  Scriptures,  and  is  developed  es- 
§  8.  Law  of  pecially  in  the  cases  of  the  headship  of  Adam  to  the 
identity.  race,  and  the  believer  justified  in  Christ.    That  prin- 

ciple we  have  stated  to  be,  that  "  community  in  a  propagated 
nature  constitutes  such  a  oneness  as  immediately  identifies  the 
possessor,  in  the  relations  of  that  nature  in  the  progenitor 
whence  it  springs."  This  principle  seems  to  be  but  one  parti- 
cular, under  the  general  proposition  that  continuity  of  organic 
force  constitutes  identity,  in  any  substance,  whether  material  or 
spiritual.  In  this  expression,  we  consider  an  organism  as  a 
substance,  simple  or  compound,  clothed  with  its  distinctive 
forces,  constituting  it  an  efficient  cause;  and  by  the  phrase, 
continuity  of  organic  force,  we  design  to  intimate  that,  in  what- 
ever direction  those  forces  flow,  and  to  whatever  extent,  they 
operate  to  bind  the  substances  upon  which  they  act  in  a  relation 
of  identity.  By,  identity,  is,  of  course,  not  meant  absolute 
numerical  oneness,  in  all  respects ;  but  that  of  which,  to  given 
purposes,  the  same  proposition  may  be  predicated  immediately 


sect,  vii.]  Original  Sin  Imputed.  495 

and  per  se.  Thus,  we  have  no  assurance  that  the  body  of  the 
aged  man  contains,  among  all  its  material  elements,  a  particle 
which  was  in  it  in  his  infancy.  The  identity  is  predicated 
upon  the  continuous  operation  of  those  vital  forces  which  have 
pervaded  and  built  it  up,  repaired  its  breaches  and  determined 
its  character.  So,  too,  of  the  tree  or  the  rock,  the  star  or  the 
system.  Again,  all  identities  are  not  of  the  same  order;  as  there 
is,  for  example,  a  distinct  identity  belonging  to  each  limb  of 
the  body,  and  another,  of  a  higher  grade,  common  to  them  all, 
in  the  unity  of  the  body.  These  grades  of  identity  are  deter- 
mined by  the  degree  to  which  the  subordinate  substance  is  per- 
vaded and  controlled  by  the  organic  forces  whence  the  identity 
is  predicated.  Thus,  forces  which  are  common  to  the  solar  sys- 
tem give  it  an  identity  of  one  grade,  comprehending  in  it,  not 
only  the  planets  in  their  mass,  but  every  organism,  and  every 
atom,  belonging  to  any  of  them ;  all  of  which  are  embraced  in 
the  common  forces  of  gravitation,  repulsion,  and  so  on.  On  the 
other  hand,  each  particular  planet  has  its  more  intimate  identity, 
constituted  by  the  addition  to  the  forces  which  it  possesses  in 
common  with  the  others,  of  those  which  operate  more  imme- 
diately upon  its  own  materials.  So  may  we  trace  a  growing 
intimacy  of  identity,  until  we  come  to  the  indivisible  molecules. 
So  it  is  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  world.  By  one  Spirit 
are  believers  all  baptized  into  one  body.  By  this  baptism,  no 
one  loses  the  identity  of  his  own  person;  but,  "by  the  law  of 
the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus,"  he  is  introduced  into  a  higher 
identity, — identity  in  Him  "  from  whom  the  whole  body  fitly 
joined  together,  and  compacted  by  that  which  every  joint  sup- 
plieth,  according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the  measure  of 
every  part,  maketh  increase  of  the  body  unto  the  edifying  of 
itself  in  love." — Eph.  iv.  16.  It  is  thus,  by  the  pervasive 
power  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  moulding  and  controlling  the 
whole,  that  the  identity  is  wrought,  of  which  Christ  so  remark- 
ably says, — "That  they  all  may  be  one;  as  thou,  Father,  art  in 
me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  may  be  one  in  us.  .  .  .  That  they  may 
be  one,  even  as  we  are  one ;  I  in  them,  and  thou  in  me,  that 
they  may  be  made  perfect  in  one." — John  xvii.  21-23. 


496  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvi. 

Parallel  to  this,  is  the  identity  which  we  sustain  to  the  first 
Adam.  By  birth  we  acquire  a  distinct  and  separate  personality, 
having  an  identity  of  its  own,  of  the  same  grade  and  degree  as 
was  that  of  Adam's  person.  But  with  this  distinct  personality 
there  is  associated  a  community  in  Adam's  moral  nature,  by 
virtue  of  the  continuity  of  forces  flowing  from  him  to  us,  em- 
bracing us  in  an  identity  with  his  nature,  and  involving  our 
communion  in  his  apostasy  from  God.  Hence,  the  Scripture 
forms  of  expression,  of  our  being  in  him,  sinning  in  him,  and 
dying  in  him. 

The  sin  of  Adam  was  an  act  in  its  own  nature  transient,  and, 
when  past,  left  in  him  nothing  but  the  criminality  or  desert  of 
punishment,  the  defilement  and  depravity  of  nature,  and  the  con- 
sequent condemnation  under  the  curse.  These  all,  by  virtue  of 
our  identity  of  nature  with  him,  are  ours.  "  God  created  man 
righteous,  and  was  the  author  of  his  nature,  though  not  of  his 
sins.  But  he,  having  spontaneously  depraved  himself,  and  be- 
come justly  condemned,  generated  a  depraved  and  condemned 
offspring.  For  we  were  all  in  that  one  man,  who  fell  into  sin 
through  the  woman  who  was  made  of  him  before  the  sin,  when 
he,  one,  corrupted  all.  The  form  in  which  we  as  individuals  live 
was  not  yet  created  and  distributed  to  us  severally,  but  the 
seminal  nature  was  created,  from  whence  we  were  propagated ; 
which  nature  itself,  being  by  sin  vitiated,  bound  in  the  chains 
of  death,  and  justly  condemned, — man  was  begotten  of  man  in 
no  different  estate ;  and  through  this  channel,  by  the  bad  use  of 
free  will,  the  series  of  those  calamities  has  originated  which 
have  accompanied  the  race, — thus  depraved  in  its  origin,  and,  as 
it  were,  corrupted  in  the  root, — even  to  the  eternal  perdition  of 
the  second  death, — those  only  excepted  who,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
are  freed  from  the  bond  of  misery."* 

It  is  objected  that,  if  we  are  in  fact  guilty  of  the  crime  of 
a  9.  Contrition  Adam's  sin,  as  here  asserted,  then  are  we  under 
due  /or  the  obligation  to  realize  contrition  and  penitence  for  it; 
apostasy.  j^  ^^  ^-g  ^g  ^possible,  inasmuch  as  we  are  en- 

tirely unconscious  of  the  sin.  Were  it  impossible  to  reply  to 
*  Augustinus  De  Civitate  Dei,  Lib.  xiii.  14. 


sect,  viii.]  Original  Sin  Imputed.  497 

this  objection,  it  would  not  trouble  us,  because  it  is  an  appeal  to 
carnal  reason  from  the  testimony  of  the  word  of  God.  But,  in 
fact,  the  objection  presents  no  difficulty  that  does  not  arise  from 
misapprehension;  for,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  not  the  province  of 
consciousness  to  take  cognizance  of  the  past.  That  is  the  office  of 
reason,  resting  on  testimony;  and,  of  memory.  I  am  unable,  in 
any  way,  to  recall  a  tithe  of  the  sins  of  my  past  life.  Will  it, 
therefore,  be  held,  that  the  criminality  of  them  does  not  attach 
to  me  ?  I  may  be  convinced,  by  sufficient  evidence,  of  the  fact 
that,  in  my  childhood,  I  committed  a  given  act  of  sin.  Am  I, 
therefore,  excusable  from  the  guilt  of  it,  and  the  duty  of  heart- 
felt contrition  for  it,  because  I  search  the  tablets  of  memory  in 
vain  for  any  trace  of  the  sin  ?  But  consciousness  is  not  so  en- 
tirely silent,  as  some  may  imagine,  in  respect  to  this  first  all- 
embracing  sin  of  Adam ;  and  the  only  reason  why  any  doubt  is 
felt,  among  God's  people,  on  the  subject,  is,  that  they  do  not  carry 
with  them,  always,  a  distinct  apprehension  of  that  in  which  the 
sin  consisted.  We  have  shown,  already,  that  the  plucking  and 
eating  of  the  fruit  of  the  forbidden  tree  was  a  mere  accident,  follow- 
ing the  heart-sin ; — an  act,  indeed,  sustaining  immensely  important 
relations ;  but  yet  to  be  distinguished  carefully  from  the  cardinal 
matter,  of  which  it  was  the  evidence  and  seal.  The  sin  was, 
apostasy  of  man's  nature  from  God ;  apostasy,  by  the  force  of 
which  Adam  was  impelled  into  the  act  of  transgression,  as  an 
inevitable  consequence  of  the  state  of  heart  constituted  by  the 
apostasy.  Now,  let  it  be  carefully  observed  that  apostasy  is  an 
act,  not  a  habit ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  depravity  and  corrup- 
tion is  a  habitual  state,  and  not  an  act.  The  difference  between 
regeneration  and  sanctification  is  not  more  clear  nor  important 
than  that  between  apostasy  and  the  depravity  which  it  produces ; 
and  precisely  as  regeneration  is  an  act  which,  once  done,  is 
finished  and  can  never  be  repeated,  so  apostasy  can  occur  but 
once.  That  once  was  when  the  nature  of  man — the  nature  of 
the  race — revolted,  in  the  person  of  the  father  of  the  race.  We 
only  further  ask,  whether  it  is  possible  that  any  child  of  God 
can  fail  to  be  self-condemned,  as  guilty,  not  merely  of  habitual 
depravity,  but  of  apostasy.     Is  there  one  who  fails  to  realize, 

32 


498  The  fflohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvi. 

in  contrition  before  God,  that  there  is  abundant  proof  within  of 
a  departure  from  holiness,  which  is  in  him  a  crime  deserving 
God's  wrath,  and  which  is  the  cause  of  his  depravity  and  of  his 
actual  sins  ? 

In  order  to  an  intelligent  and  right  answer  to  this  question, 
let  us  consider  the  nature  of  the  emotions  respecting  sin  which 
arise  in  the  heart  of  one  taught  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  Perhaps 
that  which  most  commonly  arrests  the  attention,  is  the  external 
forms  of  transgression.  He  finds  himself  in  a  position  of  actual 
outward  conflict  with  the  holy  law  of  God.  But  conscience  does 
not  long  stop  here.  The  outward  deeds  are  traced  to  a  depravity 
of  nature,  which  is  their  active  cause,  and  the  spring  of  their 
enormity;  and  the  testimony  of  conscience  is  that  the  deed  is 
evil  because  of  its  evil  source.  It  is  only  after  such  views  that 
the  soul  can  realize  the  meaning  and  join  in  the  earnestness  of 
Paul's  anguished  cry,  "  0,  wretched  man  that  I  am !  who  shall 
deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death?"  But  let  us  trace  the 
matter  yet  a  little  further.  Is  the  feeling  thus  realized  one  of 
conscious  guilt  merely  for  the  fact  that  depravity  acts  ?  Or  is 
it  not,  when  traced  to  its  ultimate  principle,  a  consciousness  of 
responsibility,  criminality  and  condemnation  before  the  bar  of 
conscience  and  of  God,  for  the  fact  that  the  depravity  exists  ? 
The  person  may  never  have  heard  of  Adam  and  the  apostasy; 
or,  if  he  have,  the  subject  may  not  assume  the  form  of  conscious 
relation  to  Adam,  and  guiltiness  in  his  sin.  How  or  when  he 
became  depraved,  he  may  not  know.  But  this  one  thing  he  does 
know; — in  respect  to  it,  the  teachings  of  conscience  are  unam- 
biguous,— that  the  depravity  which  is  in  him  is  not  proper  to 
him,  as  he  is  a  creature  of  God;  that  it  came  not  from  the  hand 
of  his  Maker,  but  is  contrary  to  his  law,  at  variance  with  his 
holiness,  and  is  hostility  to  him.  That  its  origin  is  not  of  God, 
he  realizes  with  an  intensity  of  assurance  which  nothing  can 
move ;  and  that  it  is  of  himself,  he  is  equally  conscious.  Of  the 
date  of  that  origin  he  knows  nothing,  except  that  its  existence 
is  parallel  with  his  being ;  but,  that  its  occurrence  is  in  him  a 
criminal  fact  is  as  surely  attested  within,  as,  that  its  fruits  are 
his  crimes.     In  fact,  it  is  only  in  this  consciousness  of  crimi- 


sect,  ix.]  Original  Sin  Imputed.  499 

nality  for  the  fact  that  depravity  exists,  that  conscience  finds 
the  fulcrum,  upon  which  to  ply  the  charge  of  crime  in  actual 
sins.  It  is  because  immanent  depravity  is  our  crime, — recog- 
nised as  such  by  conscience, — that  active  depravity  and  actual 
sins  are  so  recognised ;  since  these  are  the  effects,  flowing  by  a 
natural  necessity  from  the  other. 

Of  the  principles  here  stated,  an  instructive  illustration  pre- 
sents itself  in  the  case  of  Dr.  Goodwin,  a  member  of  the  West- 
minster Assembly.  Speaking  of  his  own  conversion,  he  says, 
" '  An  abundant  discovery  was  made  unto  me  of  my  inward  lusts 
and  concupiscence,  and  I  was  amazed  to  see  with  what  greedi- 
ness I  had  sought  the  gratification  of  every  sin.'  He  had 
now,"  says  the  historian  of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  "such  a 
view  of  the  root  and  fountain  of  his  iniquity,  that  he  ceased 
from  going  about  to  establish  his  own  righteousness, — which  he 
never  before  had  done.  He  had  such  a  sense  of  the  exceeding 
sinfulness  of  his  sins  that  he  'abhorred  himself,  and  repented  in 
dust  and  ashes.'  He  was  humbled  under  God's  mighty  hand. 
He  was  deeply  convinced  '  that  in  him — that  is,  in  his  flesh — 
dwelt  no  good  thing.'  And  after  tracing  his  corruption  to  its 
source,  he  found  it  to  have  originated  in  the  first  sin  of  man; 
that  in  him  all  had  sinned,  agreeably  to  that  of  Paul,  'By  one 
man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin,  and  so  death 
passed  on  all  men,  because  that  all  have  sinned.'  '  This,'  says  he, 
'caused  me  necessarily  to  conceive  that  it  was  the  guilt  or  de- 
merit of  that  one  man's  disobedience  that  corrupted  my  nature. 
Under  such  apprehensions  as  these  did  my  spirit  lie  convicted 
of  this  great  truth,  that,  being  gone  to  bed  some  hours  before, 
I  arose  out  of  bed,  being  alone,  and  solemnly  fell  down  before 
God,  the  Father  of  all  the  family  in  heaven,  and  did  of  my  own 
accord  assume  and  take  upon  me  the  guilt  of  that  sin,  as  truly 
as  any  of  my  actual  sins.'"*  Taught  by  such  an  experi- 
ence, Goodwin  subsequently  wrote,  on  the  subject  before  us, 
that,  "as  to  corruption  of  nature,  that  comes  to  be  a  sin  only  as 
it  refers  to  an  act  of  sin,  which  caused  it.  If,  therefore,  that 
corruption  become  truly  and  properly  a  sin  in  us,  as  well  as  in 

*  History  of  the  AVestniinster  Assembly.     Board  of  Pub.,   1841,  p.  273. 


500  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvr. 

him,  (Adam,)  lie  must  necessarily  be  constituted  a  public  person, 
representing  us,  in  respect  of  that  very  act  of  sin ;  for  it  is  not 
the  want  of  righteousness  simply  which  is  sin,  but  as  relating  to 
a  forfeiture  and  losing  of  it,  which  they  are  first  guilty  of  who 
lose  it."* 

But  few  convicted  sinners  have  the  power  of  analyzing  their 
own  exercises,  so  as  to  trace  the  depravity  of  their  nature  to  the 
criminal  act  of  depravation,  and  to  locate  that  in  the  apostasy 
of  Adam.  But  the  process  is,  in  all  cases,  essentially  the  same. 
Actual  sins  are  traced  to  a  depraved  nature;  and  that  depravity 
is  referred  to  a  depravation,  of  which,  whatever  be  the  history, 
we  are  the  consciously  criminal  authors.  Is  the  matter,  of  which 
the  awakened  conscience  has  such  an  intense  apprehension,  any 
thing  else  than  that  apostasy  of  which  our  nature  was  guilty,  in 
the  person  of  Adam?     If  it  be  not  that,  what  else  is  it? 

Near  akin  to  the  objection  just  noticed  is  another,  which  urges, 
that  the  view  here  presented  is  inconsistent  with  a  proper  sense 
§  10.  Sense  of  of  personal  responsibility.  How  it  should  be  so,  does 
personal  re-  noi  appear.  Every  one  is  conscious  of  a  just  ac- 
1 ' y'  countability  for  all  personal  sins.  For  every  crime 
I  may  have  committed,  from  the  cradle  until  now,  it  is,  on  all 
hands,  agreed  that  I  am  righteously  bound  to  answer.  Upon 
what  principle?  Is  it  because  the  sin  proceeded  from  causes 
extrinsic  to  my  nature  ?  No,  but  directly  the  reverse ; — because 
my  nature  is  the  sole  cause  of  the  act;  and  the  cause  of  it,  in 
such  a  way,  as  to  prove  itself  depraved.  Just  in  proportion  as 
influences  are  admitted  to  operate,  which  are  extraneous  to  and 
independent  of  my  nature,  is  the  burden  of  my  responsibility 
lightened.  And  if  it  be  once  proved  that  the  given  act  did  not 
proceed  from  depravity  in  my  nature,  I  am  at  once  released  from 
all  impeachment  of  crime.  Thus,  then,  it  appears  that  my  con- 
scious responsibility  for  the  acts  of  my  person  is  not,  merely,  as 
they  are  personal  actions ;  but,  as  they  are  the  proofs  and  out- 
flowings  of  the  depravity  of  my  nature.  Further,  this  responsi- 
bility is  not  because  of  any  causative  relation  of  my  person  to 
that  depravity.     It  was  not  originated  by  my  person,  nor  in  it. 

*  Goodwin's  Works,  vol.  iii.  p.  16. 


sect,  ix.]  Original  Sin  Imputed.  501 

Nor  is  it  aroused,  nor  in  any  way  excited  or  modified,  by  my 
person.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  the  controlling  power,  to  which 
my  person  is  enslaved, — possessing  all  my  faculties,  ruling  all  my 
actions,  and  infecting  all  with  its  malign  influence.  The  responsi- 
bility, therefore,  of  which  all  are  conscious,  in  respect  to  per- 
sonal sins,  when  analyzed,  proves  to  attach,  not  to  the  mere 
action  of  unlawfulness,  but  to  the  depravity  of  the  nature ; — a 
depravity  antedating  personal  existence,  and  only  voluntary  to 
me,  as  a  person,  in  the  sense  that  it  has  seized  and  controls  my 
will,  as  well  as  all  my  other  powers.  In  other  words,  it  belongs 
to  my  nature,  and  is  therefore  a  characteristic  of  my  very  being. 
Thus,  it  appears  that  conscience,  under  the  unerring  teaching 
of  the  Creator  who  planted  it  in  the  soul,  and  of  the  Spirit  who 
quickens  it,  in  convincing  of  sin,  lays  comparatively  little  stress 
upon  the  merely  personal  aspects  of  sin ;  employing  them,  mainly, 
as  the  demonstrations  of  the  moral  condition  of  the  nature.  And 
so  far  is  it  from  being  true,  that  the  view  which  we  present, — 
of  the  responsible  and  criminal  relation  which  we  sustain  to  the 
sin  of  Adam, — tends  to  induce  confused  and  inadequate  views 
of  the  evil  of  sin  and  our  responsibility  for  it,  directly  the  op- 
posite effect  is  induced.  Every  truly  convicted  sinner  realizes 
the  meaning  and  the  propriety  of  David's  bitter  cry,  when  the 
hidden  depths  of  his  apostate  nature  were  disclosed  to  him.  His 
actual  sins  were  enormous.  But  that  to  which  he  refers  them 
all,  and  which  excites  the  deepest  emotion  within  him,  was  the 
depraved  source,  pervasive  of  his  being,  whence  they  flow: — 
"Behold,  I  was  shapen  in  iniquity,  and  in  sin  did  my  mother 
conceive  me." — Psalm  li.  5. 

In  respect  to  actual  sins,  there  are  but  three  possible  theories 
of  their  origin.  To  these  are  appropriate  corresponding  estimates 
of  their  enormity.  According  to  one  view,  man's  nature  is  not 
originally  depraved, — the  moral  attitude  of  his  soul  is  not  na- 
tively such  as  necessarily  to  imply  deeds  of  sin.  These,  there- 
fore, are  mere  accidents  of  his  person,  which  do  not  lay  hold  of 
the  depths  of  his  being, — which  do  not  imply  any  intense  or 
pervasive  moral  evil  in  the  soul.  This,  be  it  observed,  is  the 
theory  which  most  thoroughly  limits  the  charge  of  sin  to  the 


502  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  xvi. 

individual  personality.  According  to  it,  the  whole  origin  and 
cause  of  sin  is  found  in,  and  limited  to,  the  person  of  the  several 
individual.  If,  therefore,  the  objection,  which  we  are  now  con- 
sidering, be  valid,  we  may  expect  this  theory  to  induce  the  most 
intense  apprehension  of  the  evil  of  sin,  and  consciousness  of 
personal  responsibility  for  it.  The  second  view  is  that  which 
holds  the  sin  of  Adam  to  be  foreign  to  us,  so  far  as  its  crimi- 
nality is  concerned;  but  asserts  that  sin  to  have  been  the  cause 
or  occasion  of  a  depravation  of  our  nature,  for  which,  although 
in  its  origination  we  are  not  morally  chargeable,  yet  in  its  exist- 
ence and  action  we  are.  This  depravity,  thus  arising  in  us,  and 
thus  chargeable  upon  us,  is  the  cause  of  all  actual  sins.  That 
which  is  the  distinctive  characteristic  of  this  view  is  the  fact, 
that,  in  the  last  resort,  it  traces  all  sin  in  us  to  an  innocent 
natural  necessity.  Adam's  apostasy,  which  is  denied  to  be  our 
crime,  is  nevertheless  the  cause  of  our  depravity  and  sinfulness. 
Or, — according  to  a  different  phase  of  the  theory, — the  cause  of 
our  depravity,  whence  our  sins  arise,  is  found  in  the  judicial 
power  of  God,  visiting  us  with  this  as  the  punishment  of  a  sin 
which  we  are  not  required  either  to  acknowledge  or  repent  of! 
How  far  such  a  theory  is  calculated  to  induce  a  deep  sense  of 
God's  holy  abhorrence  of  sin,  and  our  own  just  responsibility  for 
our  wickedness,  the  reader  may  judge.  The  third  view,  which  we 
hold  to  be  that  of  the  word  of  God,  traces  all  our  actual  sins  back 
to  a  depravity,  the  cause  of  which  was  the  wicked  apostasy  of 
our  nature  from  God,  in  the  person  of  Adam ; — an  apostasy  in 
which  we  are  as  truly  criminal  as  Adam  was ;  because,  the  nature 
by  which  it  was  committed  is  as  really  in  us  as  in  him.  Of  its 
identity,  it  gives  abundant  pledges,  in  its  alien  attitude,  and  un- 
holy fruits.  Thus  does  this  view  hold  us  guilty  of  personal  sins, 
which  have  no  apology  in  an  innocent  cause ; — sins  whose  enormity 
is  estimated  by  the  evil  of  the  apostasy,  of  which  they  are  the 
native  and  proper  fruits.  Not  only  does  it  charge  our  sins  upon 
us,  as  persons;  but  traces  these  to  our  nature, — the  fountain  of 
our  being;  which  it  condemns,  under  the  just  accusation  of  being 
a  party  in  that  wicked  apostasy,  which  "brought  death  into  the 
world,  and  all  our  woe."     In  this  doctrine,  whilst  we  are  to  be 


sect,  x.]  Original  Sin  Imputed.  503 

regarded,  on  the  one  hand,  as  individual  persons,  that  does  not 
cover  the  whole  case;  but,  we  are  the  branches  of  one  vine, — 
the  partners  of  one  blood, — the  members  of  one  body.  That 
vine  is  degenerate.  That  blood  is  corrupted.  That  body  is 
apostate.  And  the  guiltiness,  which  attaches  to  our  persons, 
not  only  implies  the  fact  that  we  are  personally  corrupt  and  sin- 
ful, but  involves  the  prior  fact,  that  the  nature,  in  us,  which  is 
thus  revealed  corrupt  and  criminal,  is  so,  essentially  and  in  all 
its  aspects  and  history.  The  crimes  which  it  produces  in  our 
persons,  are  but  the  outflowing  of  that  same  malignant  evil, 
which  has  been  characteristic  of  it  in  all  the  generations  of  men. 
The  depravity  which  we  realize,  is  the  putrid  stream,  whose  poi- 
sonous waters  flow  from  the  fount  of  apostasy,  in  the  person  of 
the  first  man, — an  apostasy,  which,  if  of  his  nature,  was  of  the 
nature  which  we  derive  from  him,  our  nature; — an  apostasy, 
which,  if,  in  him,  it  was  the  cause  of  depravity  and  sin,  is  a 
similar  cause  in  us; — an  apostasy,  which,  if  it  brought  him 
under  condemnation,  not  only  for  the  deed  itself,  but  for  the  cor- 
ruption thence  flowing,  and  the  many  crimes  thereby  caused,  is, 
in  us,  burdened  with  the  same  infinite  and  righteous  curse, — 
first,  for  the  initial  crime,  the  cause  and  measure  of  all  the  rest ; 
and,  thence,  for  the  unholiness  and  transgression  which  proceed 
from  it. 

Which  of  these  schemes  tends  the  most  to  honour  the  holiness, 
the  justice,  the  goodness  and  truth  of  God, — which  is  best  cal- 
culated to  induce  the  most  distinct  and  adequate  sense  of  indi- 
vidual responsibility,  and  of  the  evil  of  sin, — the  reader  will 
judge.  Which  corresponds  best  with  the  corrupt  dispositions  of 
men,  it  is  easy  to  decide.  Any  scheme  which  palliates  the  in- 
trinsic evil  of  the  depravity  of  man's  nature,  and  the  just  re- 
sponsibility to  which  he  is  held  as  the  criminal  author  of  his 
own  corruption,  will  be  gladly  embraced  by  a  nature  which  loves 
darkness.  Long  ago  did  the  Pharisees  exemplify  how  pleasing 
the  delusion  of  washing  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  platter,  and 
admiring  its  glittering  show,  heedless  of  the  uncleanness  and 
corruption  that  ferment  within. 

The  opinion  seems  to  be  entertained  by  some,  that  the  attempt 


504  The  Elohim  Revealed,  [chap.  xvi. 

to  base  our  relation  to  the  covenant  and  to  the  apostasy  upon  our 
a  11.  Our  doc-  natural  relation  to  Adam  involves,  as  a  logical 
trine  opposed  result,  the  doctrine  of  mediate  imputation.  This 
to  piaceamsm.  appears  to  be  the  idea  of  a,  distinguished  reviewer 
of  Breckenridge's  Theology.  Attributing  to  Dr.  Breckenridge 
the  opinion  to  which  he  excepts  this  writer  says,  "We  are  aware 
that  the  doctrine  of  Dr.  B.  is  the  doctrine  of  Calvin,  and  that 
the  chapter  in  our  Confession  of  Faith,  '  Of  the  Fall  of  Man,  of 
Sin,  and  of  the  Punishment  thereof,'  may  be  interpreted  in  the 
same  sense ;  but  the  teaching  of  the  Catechisms  we  take  to  be 
clearly  and  unambiguously  on  our  side.  There  the  imputation 
of  guilt  is  direct  and  immediate,  and  the  true  explanation  of 
the  degraded  condition  of  the  race."* 

That  Calvin  and  the  Confession  base  the  imputation  of  Adam's 
sin  upon  our  natural  relation  to  him,  is  unquestionable.  The 
Catechisms,  more  briefly,  intimate  the  same  thing;  and  we 
understand  Dr.  Breckenridge  in  that  sense.  In  the  admirable 
work  to  which  these  strictures  have  reference,  he  says,  "  There 
are  two  great  facts,  both  of  them  clear  and  transcendent,  which 
unitedly  control  the  case.  The  first  is,  that  Adam  was  the  na- 
tural head  and  common  progenitor  of  his  race.  The  human 
family  is  not  only  of  one  blood,  as  has  been  proved  in  another 
place,  but  the  blood  of  Adam  is  that  one  blood.  The  whole 
Scriptures  are  subverted,  and  human  life  is  the  grossest  of  all 
enigmas,  if  this  be  not  true.  If  it  be  true,  nothing  is  more 
inevitable  than  that  whatever  change  may  have  been  produced 
on  the  whole  nature  of  Adam  by  his  fall,  before  the  existence 
of  any  of  his  issue,  must  have  been  propagated  through  all  suc- 
ceeding generations.  If  there  is  any  thing  perfectly  assured  to 
us,  it  is  the  steadfastness  of  the  order  of  nature  in  the  perpetual  re- 
production of  all  things  after  their  own  kind.  If  the  fall  produced 
no  change  on  the  nature  of  Adam,  it  could  produce  none  on  the 
nature  of  his  descendants.  If  it  did  produce  any  change  upon 
his  nature,  it  was  his  nature  thus  changed,  and  not  the  form  of 
his  nature  before  his  fall,  which  his  posterity  must  inherit."  "  The 
second  of  the  two  great  facts  alluded  to  is,  that  Adam  was  the 

*  Southern  Presbyterian  Review,  vol.  x.,  Jan.,  1858,  p.  616. 


sect,  xi.]  Original  Sin  Imputed.  505 

federal,  the  representative,  the  covenanted,  head  of  his  race,  as  well 
as  its  natural  head."  "  There  is,  doubtless,  a  wide  difference  be- 
tween imputed  sin  and  inherent  sin.  We,  however,  have  both, 
and  that  naturally ;  and  it  tends  only  to  error  to  attempt  to  expli- 
cate either  of  them,  in  disregard  of  the  other,  or  to  separate 
what  God  has  indissolubly  united,  namely,  our  double  relation 
to  Adam.  It  is  infinitely  certain  that  God  would  never  make  a 
legal  fiction  a  pretext  to  punish  as  sinners  dependent  and  helpless 
creatures  who  are  actually  innocent."  "We  must  not  attempt 
to  separate  Adam's  federal  from  his  natural  headship, — by  the 
union  of  which  he  is  the  root  of  the  human  race ;  since  we  have 
not  a  particle  of  reason  to  believe  that  the  former  would  ever 
have  existed  without  the  latter.  Nay,  Christ,  to  become  our 
federal  head,  had  to  take  our  nature."* 

So  far  is  it  from  being  the  fact  that  the  dependence  of  the 
federal  upon  the  natural  headship  involves  the  mediate  imputa- 
tion of  Adam's  sin,  directly  the  reverse  is  the  case.  If  our 
relation  to  the  covenant  is  founded  on  our  natural  relation  to 
Adam, — if  we  are,  at  the  bar  of  God,  held  to  have  sinned  in 
him  because  the  nature  that  is  in  us  flowed  to  us  from  him, — 
it  immediately  follows  that  the  responsibilities  thence  derived 
are  the  same  in  their  order  in  us  as  they  were  in  Adam.  If  his 
nature  was  first  guilty  of  apostasy  and  then  of  consequent  de- 
pravity and  sin,  it  will  be  so  as  it  flows  to  us.  This  doctrine  is 
so  entirely  consistent  with  that  of  immediate  imputation,  that 
De  Moor,  after  devoting  twenty-one  pages  to  the  refutation  of 
Placseus,  plants  himself,  in  harmony  with  Marck,  upon  our  very 
position  as  the  ground  of  defence  against  the  objections  of  those 
who  denied  immediate  imputation.  "It  is  objected  that  the 
justice  of  God  will  not  admit  the  imputation  of  the  sin  of 
another.  The  answer  is,  in  our  author  [Marck] :  Justice  will 
not,  indeed,  permit  the  imputation  of  the  sin  of  another  which 
is  entirely  and  in  every  sense  alien  to  him  to  whom  it  is  imputed. 
Yet  it  fully  approves  of  the  imputation  of  a  sin  which  is  so 
committed    by  another   that  there    nevertheless   intervenes   a 

*  Breckinridge's  Knowledge  of  God  Objectively  Considered,  pp.  487,  488, 
498,  499. 


506  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvi. 

certain  communion  of  him  to  whom  it  is  imputed  with  the 
immediate  author  of  the  sin.  And  this  communion  may  be  of 
three  kinds :  either  (1)  voluntary,  such  as  is  between  a  crimi- 
nal and  his  surety,  in  which  case  previous  consent  is  necessary : 
thus  the  sins  of  the  elect  were  imputed  to  Christ,  who  volun- 
tarily became  surety  for  them,  (Isa.  liii.  6;  2  Cor.  v.  21) :  or  (2) 
natural,  such  as  is  between  a  father  and  his  children,  (Ex.  xx.  5) : 
or  (3)  political,  such  as  is  between  a  king  and  his  subjects.  In 
the  second  and  third  modes  of  this  communion,  it  is  not  neces- 
sary that  he  to  whom  the  sins  of  another  are  imputed  should 
first  give  his  actual  consent.  This  twofold  communion,  natural 
and  moral  or  political,  holds  between  us  and  Adam,  as  he  was 
the  father  of  us  all  and  the  prince  and  representative  head  of 
the  whole  human  race.  He  was  not  a  private  but  a  public  and 
representative  person,  in  whom  the  law  of  nature  and  the  com- 
mand which  was  the  test  of  obedience  were  proposed  to  the 
whole  human  nature ;  and  who  apostatizing,  the  whole  human 
nature  at  the  same  time  fell  in  that  one  individual  representative 
person,  (in  ipsa  ilia  persona  representativa,)  whence  that  uni- 
versal apostasy  is  deservedly  imputed  to  the  whole  nature  of 
man."* 

"It  is  objected,  that  the  sin  of  Adam  was  a  single  act,  past 
long  before  we  had  existence.  But  the  crime  was  common, 
since  in  the  single  act  of  Adam's  sin  were  included  the  universal 
transgression  of  all  men,  and  violation  of  all  law.  And  hence, 
the  stream  of  guilt  remains,  although  the  act  has  passed ;  as, 
for  example,  the  guilt  of  a  murder  abides  although  the  crime 
may  have  been  committed  twenty  years  ago.  It  is  objected, 
that,  in  this  case,  the  guilty  person  is  supposed  to  remain ;  but 
Adam  is  long  since  dead.  But  we  all  became  guilty  in  Adam. 
Since  we  were  existing  in  his  loins,  in  him  we  also  sinned.  (Cum 
in  lumbis  ejus  existentes,  in  ipso  quoque  peccavimus.)"f 

A  single  additional  paragraph  will  illustrate  the  weapons 
which  De  Moor  uses  in  refuting  Placseus.  "  We  listen  with 
pleasure  to  Hoornbeek,  expounding  this  subject : — '  Do  you  ask 

*  De  Moor  upon  Marck,  cap.  xv.  \  32.     Lugd.  Batav.  1765,  Pars  iii.  p.  284. 
f  Ibid.  p.  285. 


sect,  xi.]  Original  Si?i  Imputed.  507 

whence  this  sin  is  in  us  ?  The  answer  is  at  hand  : — From  the 
first  common  sin  of  Adam  it  is  imputed  to  all  men  descending 
from  Adam.  In  which  view,  it  is  necessary  to  know  what  person 
or  condition  Adam  sustained,  and  in  what  manner  the  whole 
nature  of  man  is  to  be  accounted  to  have  been  so  represented 
and  confederated,  that  whatever  he  previously  was,  possessed, 
or  did,  is  to  be  esteemed  to  have  belonged  to  all  men,  and  there- 
fore the  whole  nature  of  man  to  have  been  in  him.  Adam  was 
not  only  an  individual  person,  but  in  him,  as  the  root,  and  ac- 
cording to  the  law  of  generation,  (et  stirpis  ratione,)  the  whole 
totality  of  our  nature  was  accounted.  This  man  stood  as  the 
root,  the  source,  the  head,  the  fountain,  of  the  whole  nature ; 
and  this  by  a  double  title, — as  the  natural  head  from  whom  the 
whole  nature  was  to  be  propagated,  (Acts  xvii.  26 ;  Gen.  ii. ;) — 
and  as  the  moral  head,  in  whose  obedience  or  disobedience  our 
universal  nature  stood  or  fell  in  an  equal  fortune  with  his. 
From  the  former  is  derived  our  nature;  from  the  latter,  its 
moral  attitude.  From  the  one  it  is  that  we  are  men ;  from  the 
other,  that  we  are  such  men,  whether  good  or  evil.'  "* 

It  is  objected,  that  we  did  not  sin  and  fall  in  Adam  as  he  was 
the  natural  root  of  mankind ;  else  it  might  be  said  that  all  sin 
3  12  Adam's  because  their  immediate  parents  have  sinned.  To 
sm,  and  those  this,  Dickinson  justly  replies,  "As  Adam  was  but 
of  our  parents.  once^  and  none  of  his  descendants  were  at  all,  in  a 
state  of  trial  for  confirmation  and  establishment  in  original 
righteousness  and  happiness ;  so,  that  covenant  could  be  but  once 
broken,  either  by  himself  or  his  posterity.  We  could  not  be 
guilty  of  original  sin,  in  Adam,  but  only  when  he  himself  was 
guilty  of  it  by  eating  the  forbidden  fruit.  "We  are  guilty,  not 
merely  as  descendants  from  Adam,  but  as  being  naturally,  as 
well  as  legally,  in  him  when  he  violated  the  first  covenant.  We 
were,  it  is  true,  in  the  loins  of  our  immediate  parents  during  all 
their  transgressions  of  God's  law,  as  well  as  in  the  loins  of 
Adam  when  he  broke  this  covenant ;  but  we  could  not  be,  in  them, 
as  we  were  in  him,  guilty  of  violating  any  terms  of  establish- 
ment in  life  and  peace ;  for  there  were  no  such  terms   made 

*  De  Moor  upon  Marck,  ut  supra,  p.  267. 


508  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvi. 

with  them.  And,  therefore,  we  could  not,  in  them,  forfeit  a 
confirmation  in  a  state  of  life  and  happiness,  which  was  never 
proposed  to  them,  either  for  themselves  or  us ;  nor  could  we,  in 
them,  bring  upon  ourselves  the  dreadful  consequences  of  such 
forfeiture  in  our  death  and  ruin."*  The  point  here  considered 
is  important,  and  the  objection  may  be  embarrassing  to  some  of 
our  readers.     We  therefore  add  these  considerations : — 

1.  The  objection  implies,  and  arises  out  of,  a  misapprehension 
as  to  what  it  is  in  which  that  sin  of  Adam,  which  is  imputed  to 
us,  consisted;  as  though  it  were  the  mere  personal  action  of 
plucking  and  eating  the  forbidden  fruit.  This  misapprehension 
has  probably  given  rise  to  more  objections  to  the  doctrine  of 
original  sin,  and  been  the  consequent  occasion  of  more  errors  on 
the  subject,  than  any  other  doctrinal  cause.  Hence  the  objec- 
tion, that  we  cannot  feel  remorse  and  penitence  for  this  sin ;  and 
hence  the  consequent  denial  that,  as  imputed  to  and  punished 
in  us,  it  is  crime.  The  primary, — the  fundamental, — the  original 
sin,  is  to  be  sought  in  the  depths  of  man's  nature, — in  the  hidden 
recesses  of  Adam's  heart,  unseen  by  any  eye  but  that  of  his 
Maker.  It  consisted  in  revolt, — in  apostasy  from  God.  The 
action  of  plucking  and  eating  the  fruit  was,  in  itself,  as  a  mere 
act,  a  matter  utterly  insignificant.  Its  whole  importance  con- 
sists in  the  fact  that,  to  finite  intelligences,  and  to  man  himself, 
it  detected  the  heart  apostasy,  and  sealed  the  curse  of  God,  in- 
curred by  that  apostasy.  Now,  this  sin  of  apostasy,  though  an 
act,  is  an  act  of  such  a  nature  as  does  not  admit  of  repetition. 
It  is  like  a  fall,  which  should  plunge  a  man  irrecoverably  to  the 
very  bottom  of  a  precipice,  or  the  profoundest  depths  of  a  gulf, 
He  may,  he  must,  remain  fallen.  But,  to  fall  again,  is  impos- 
sible. Adam's  sons  are,  and  can  but  be,  apostate.  But,  to  sup- 
pose them  anew  to  commit  the  deed,  is,  to  suppose  them  to  be 
still  upright. 

2.  There  are  two  classes  of  actions,  which,  in  this  objection, 
are  confounded;  but  which  should  be  carefully  distinguished. 
Of  these,  one  consists  in  such  personal  actions  as  result  from  the 
fact  that  the  nature  is  of  a  given  and  determinate  character. 

*  Dickinson  on  the  Five  Points,  Presb.  Board  of  Pub.,  p.  110. 


sect,  xii.]  Original  Sin  Imputed.  509 

These  in  no  respect  change  the  nature;  nor  indicate  any  change 
occurring  in  it ;  but  constitute  mere  criteria  by  which  the  cha- 
racter and  strength  of  its  attributes  may  be  known.  After  their 
occurrence,  the  nature  flows  on,  unchanged,  to  posterity ;  convey- 
ing to  them  not  the  transient  accidents  which  have  thus  arisen 
from  it,  but  itself  as  essentially  it  is.  To  this  class  belong  all 
those  sins  of  our  intermediate  ancestors,  which  are  here  objected 
to  us.  These  in  no  wise  modify  the  nature;  nor  are  they  the 
fruits  of  any  change  taking  place  in  it,  as  inherited  by  them; 
but  are  the  evidences  and  fruits  of  its  being  what  it  is,  in  the 
persons  by  whom  they  are  wrought;  and  to  whom,  therefore, 
they  attach.  The  other  class  consists  of  such  agency,  as, 
springing  from  within,  constitutes  an  action  of  the  nature  itself, 
by  which  its  attitude  is  changed.  The  single  case  referrible  to 
this  class,  is  that  of  apostasy, — the  voluntary  self-depravation  of 
a  nature  created  holy.  Here,  as  the  nature  flows  downward,  in 
the  line  of  generation,  it  communicates  to  the  successive  mem- 
bers of  the  race,  not  only  itself  thus  transformed,  but,  with  it- 
self, the  moral  responsibility  which  attaches  inseparably  to  it,  as 
active  in  the  transformation  wrought  by  it,  and  thus  conveyed. 

3.  There  is  a  great  truth  involved  in  the  objection;  although 
unapprehended  by  those  who  urge  it.  Had  Adam — made  as  he 
was — been  placed  on  probation  without  limit  as  to  time,  and  had 
he  remained  upright,  whilst  one  of  his  posterity  became  apostate, 
the  crime  and  corruption  thus  introduced  would  have  flowed  to 
the  family  of  the  apostate;  precisely  as  that  of  Adam  does  to 
us  his  seed.  This  is  not  the  place  to  point  out  the  wisdom  and 
goodness  of  God,  in  choosing  the  dispensation  under  which  man 
actually  is,  rather  than  that  here  supposed.  But  that  is  the 
only  case,  in  which  sin  like  Adam's, — apostasy, — could  have  been 
predicable  personally  of  any  of  our  intermediate  ancestry. 

In  short,  "the  sin  of  the  world"  which  Adam  committed  and 
Christ  came  to  take  away, — apostasy, — :the  embrace  of  corrup- 
tion, and  rejection  of  holiness, — once  wrought,  is  finished.  The 
original  action  of  apostasy  begets  a  state  of  depravity  and  cor- 
ruption, which  abides.  But  the  originating  act  cannot  be  re- 
peated.    The  nature  once  revolted  is  revolutionized. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

ORIGINAL   SIN   INHERENT — NATIVE   DEPRAVITY. 

The  fact  of  man's  actual  depravity  admits  of  no  question.  It 
is  asserted  in  the  Scriptures.  It  is  attested  by  all  experience. 
§i. Pelagian  And  so  overwhelming  is  the  evidence,  as  to  wring 
and  Sochi ian  from  the  most  reluctant  lips,  ample  testimony  to  its 
universality,  its  odious  character  and  its  power. 
Of  this,  we  have  seen  an  instructive  example  in  the  case  of  Dr. 
Edward  Beecher.  Compelled  by  the  irresistible  evidence  of  this 
truth,  and  misguided  by  an  inveterate  hostility  against  the  doc- 
trine of  original  sin,  he  takes  refuge  in  the  Platonic  dream  of 
pre-existence.  Of  the  proof  of  man's  deplorable  depravity,  Dr. 
Beecher  says,  "  Indeed,  so  plain  are  the  mournful  realities,  that 
the  most  eminent  Unitarian  divines  do  not  hesitate  to  state  them, 
with  an  eloquence  and  power  which  cannot  be  resisted.  That  I 
may  avoid  even  the  appearance  of  exaggeration,  I  will  state  the 
facts  in  the  words  of  such  men  as  President  Sparks,  Professor 
Norton,  Dr.  Burnap,  and  Dr.  Dewey."* 

After  exhibiting  the  testimony  of  these  writers,  he  describes 
the  style  in  which  the  subject  is  treated  by  orthodox  divines. 
"To  illustrate  their  ideas  of  the  activity  and  power  of  this  de- 
praved nature,  they  resort  to  the  most  striking  material  analo- 
gies. It  is  like  a  glowing  furnace,  constantly  emitting  flames 
and  sparks;  a  fountain,  sending  out  polluted  streams.  It  is  a 
seed  or  seed-plot  of  sin.  Original  sin,  by  which  it  is  thus  cor- 
rupted, is  a  stain  or  infection  pervading  all  the  powers  of  the 
soul.  It  is  a  noisome  root,  out  of  which  do  spring  most  abundantly 
all  kinds  of  sin.  .  .  .  Nor  does  their  language  convey  an  idea  at 

*  Conflict  of  Ages,  p.  52. 
510 


sect,  i.]  Original  Sin  Inherent.  511 

all  too  strong,  of  the  fearful  power  of  the  actual  developments 
of  human  depravity,  in  the  history  of  this  world, — even  as  stated 
by  Unitarians, — or  of  the  great  truth,  that  there  must  be  in 
man  some  adequate  cause,  before  action,  of  a  course  of  action  so 
universal,  so  powerful,  so  contrary  to  right,  to  the  natural  laws 
of  all  created  minds,  and  to  his  own  highest  interests."* 

No  more  unexceptionable  evidence  could  be  desired,  as  to  the 
force  of  the  facts,  to  command  the  recognition  of  the  most  un- 
§  2.  The  facts  willing,  and  overcome  the  partiality  of  the  most 
of  the  ease.  prejudiced.  But  all  these  fall  utterly  short  of  an 
adequate  exhibition  of  the  intensity  and  depth  of  the  depravity 
of  man.  The  wars  and  violence,  the  sensuality,  the  oppressions, 
the  anger,  drunkenness  and  adultery,  incendiarism  and  murder, 
upon  which  Pelagian  and  Socinian  writers  dilate,  are  but  the 
accidental  and  comparatively  trivial  consequences,  which  now 
from  that,  in  which  the  depravity  essentially  consists.  There 
are  two  tables  to  the  law.  The  crimes  here  enumerated  belong 
to  the  second, — assailing  the  rights  of  our  neighbours,  and  vio- 
lating the  duties  which  we  owe  to  ourselves.  But  "the  first 
and  great  commandment  of  the  law  is,  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all 
thy  strength,  and  with  all  thy  mind."  It  is  in  the  violation  of 
this  commandment  that  men's  depravity  originates  and  is  pre- 
eminently displayed.  And  it  is  not  among  the  least  of  the  illus- 
trations of  that  depravity,  that  they  are  so  ready  to  magnify 
the  evil  of  crimes  against  each  other,  and  to  slight  and  overlook 
those  against  the  Most  High.  The  essential  and  distinguishing 
characteristic  of  man's  depravity  is,  hatred  to  God  and  to  that 
holiness  which  constitutes  his  glory  and  the  creatures'  likeness 
to  him. 

We  have  shown  that  the  object  of  God  in  giving  existence  to 
the  creatures,  was  to  concentrate  them  around  himself,  and  to 
exercise  in  them,  and  reveal  to  them,  his  attributes  and  per- 
fections. He  set  himself  as  the  great  end  of  all  his  works.  "We 
have  seen  it  to  be  infinitely  right,  that  thus  it  should  be;  and 
not  only  right,  but  perfectly  consistent  with  designs  of  infinite 

*  Conflict  of  Ages,  p.  70. 


512  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvii. 

goodness  to  the  creatures ;  and  constituting  in  fact  the  best,  most 
glorious  and  most  effectual  means  to  the  accomplishment  of  such 
designs.  If  a  creature  ever  be  happy,  it  is,  from  the  very  nature 
of  the  case,  necessary,  to  that  end,  that  his  blessed  Creator  be 

"  The  circle  where  his  passions  move, 
And  centre  of  his  soul." 

Now,  it  is  apparent,  that  every  principle  of  reason,  honour  and 
gratitude  demands  that  we,  whose  pulsations  each  are  impelled 
by  God,  and  who  are  not  only  indebted  to  him  for  our  being,  at 
first,  but  are  each  moment  debtors  to  his  immediate  sustaining 
hand  for  the  gift  of  that  moment's  existence,  should  gladly 
recognise,  and  render  grateful  acknowledgment  of,  the  debt,  by 
using  the  moments  thus  numbered  out,  as  the  Giver  requires, — 
in  his  service  and  for  his  glory,  in  which  our  highest  happiness 
lies.  It  is  equally  clear,  that — being  indebted,  besides  existence, 
for  the  privilege  of  occupying  and  using  a  portion  of  God's  other 
creations — we  are  bound,  if  we  would  not  be  robbers  of  God,  to 
use  them  according  to  the  will  and  for  the  honour  of  Him  who 
lends  them  to  us.  Still  further,  when  we  consider  our  own 
habitual  unfaithfulness,  and  shortcoming,  in  these  things,  and 
observe  the  long-suffering  and  forbearance  of  God,  in  withhold- 
ing the  punishment,  which  we  have  thus  incurred,  an  untold  and 
immeasurable  obligation  rests  upon  us.  Yet  more,  when  we  add, 
that,  not  only  is  judgment  withheld,  and  perdition  postponed, 
but  salvation  and  glory  in  heaven,  in  the  very  presence  and 
bosom  of  God,  are  pressed  upon  us,  with  the  tenderest  love,  and 
the  most  gracious  importunity, — a  salvation  and  glory,  purchased 
for  us  at  the  amazing  price  of  the  incarnation  and  dying  agonies 
of  the  Son  of  God, — what  a  debt  is  here !  By  what  overwhelming 
arguments  does  God  challenge  our  all !  What  is  there  that  we 
ought  not  to  be  willing  to  do?  What  have  we,  whether  of 
powers  or  possessions,  which  we  should  not  gladly  and  fully  sur- 
render to  him?  Do  not  such  considerations  demand,  that  this 
whole  world  should  be  one  vast  temple;  every  human  heart  an 
altar,  on  which  should  smoke  the  perpetual  sacrifice  of  love  and 
self-consecration;  and  every  tongue  a  harp,  pouring  forth  un- 


sect,  ii.]  Original  Sin  Inherent.  513 

ceasing  strains  of    adoring    and  admiring    thanksgiving    and 
praise  ? 

But  how  different  the  reality  which  the  world  exhibits !  Satan, 
in  his  impious  rebellion,  thrust  himself  into  the  place  of  pre- 
eminence,— setting  up  his  own  will  and  pleasure  as  the  supreme 
law,  and  himself  as  his  ultimate  and  only  end.  Thus,  not  only 
is  he  apostate  from  holiness  and  the  Holy  One, — but,  with  a 
mad  ambition,  the  Adversary  aims  to  usurp  the  throne  and 
sceptre  of  God.  With  vaulting  wickedness,  he  demands  even 
of  the  Son  of  God  the  homage  of  worship  and  the  bended  knee ; 
and  claims,  as  his  own,  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  and  their 
glory.  This  atrocious  example  man  follows;  and  enrolls  him- 
self under  Satan's  banner.  So  far  from  making  God  our  chief 
good,  and  his  glory  our  chief  end,  "God  is  not  in  all  our 
thoughts;" — we  forget  him  altogether.  Instead  of  recognising 
with  gratitude  his  right  to  the  time,  which  his  goodness  gives, 
and  his  mercy  prolongs, — we  spend  it  according  to  our  own 
pleasure,  and  for  our  own  purposes.  Instead  of  owning,  with 
reverent  awe,  his  sovereignty  and  power,  and  the  holiness  and 
authority  of  his  law, — we  treat  his  authority  with  indifference, 
transgress  his  law,  without  hesitation,  and  incur  his  curse,  with- 
out dread.  When  he  sent  his  own  Son,  to  recall  men,  from  their 
mad  and  wicked  apostasy,  back  to  his  knowledge  and  allegiance, 
he,  whose  presence  on  earth  was  the  pledge  of  the  infinite  love 
and  the  condescending  compassion  of  a  God, — he,  who  was  holy, 
harmless,  undefiled,  full  of  grace  and  truth, — whose  countenance 
beamed  with  love, — whose  life  was  one  story  of  beneficence, — 
and  whose  lips,  speaking  as  never  man  spake,  told  of  the  re- 
opened way  to  God's  favour,  and  a  forfeited  heaven, — was  pur- 
sued with  an  unrelenting  hate,  which  rested  not  till  it  had 
tracked  him  to  the  garden  of  agony,  and  exulted  over  his  dying 
cry  as  he  expired  on  the  cross.  And  when  his  ambassadors  are 
sent  forth  to  proclaim  the  amazing  mystery  of  God's  love  to 
man,  which  presided  over  all  that  scene  of  sorrow  and  blood,  and 
through  it  provided  salvation  to  the  murderers,  and  redemption 
for  a  world, — when  men  are  invited  to  forsake  the  alliance  of 
Satan;  to  turn  from  the  ways  of  sin  and  death;  to  enlist  theni- 

33 


514  The  Elohim  Revealed,  [chap.  xvii. 

selves  among  the  followers  of  that  Captain  of  salvation,  and 
march  under  the  blood-sprinkled  banner,  to  the  recovery  of  the 
world,  for  God  and  his  Christ, — they  listen  with  cool  indifference, 
or  mock,  or  murder,  the  heralds  and  followers  of  the  crucified 
One.  And  yet,  whilst  occupying  this  very  attitude,  men  will 
cavil,  and  deny  the  total  depravity,  the  utter  evil,  of  the  nature 
of  man! 

As  to  the  precise  purport  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures  on 
this  subject,  there  are  several  things  which  it  is  necessary  to  par- 
ticularize. 

1.  The  doctrine  does  not  involve  any  change  in  the  substance 
of  the  soul,  induced  by  the  fall.  This  would  imply  a  power  equal 
I  3.  Physical  to  that  of  the  Creator,  to  have  been  operative  at  the 
corruption.  time  of  the  transgression.  It  is  competent  to  crea- 
tures to  produce  changes  in  the  modes  of  existence  of  things.  As, 
for  example,  man  can  cause  water  to  assume  the  form  of  steam. 
But  to  change  the  essence  of  a  simple  substance, — and  such  is  the 
soul, — implies  a  power  to  alter  the  very  thing  which  God  made ; 
which  is,  in  other  words,  to  destroy  his  creature,  and  put  some- 
thing else  in  its  stead.  It  is  not  necessary  to  dwell  upon  this 
point,  as  the  doctrine  is  not,  as  far  as  we  are  aware,  held  by  any. 
It  is  only  here  mentioned,  on  account  of  the  disposition  of  Pela- 
gians to  represent  it  as  the  doctrine  of  the  orthodox  confessions. 
Hence  the  cry  against  the  idea  of  "physical  depravity,"  and  simi- 
lar artifices,  which  excite  prejudice,  and  darken  the  truth. 

2.  A  popular  form  of  error,  on  the  subject  of  original  sin,  con- 
sists in  representing  man's  native  moral  condition  as  character- 
a  4.  Dr.  stu-  ized  by  the  mere  absence  of  holiness.  His  corruption 
art's  doctrine,  [q  not  a  positive  quality,  but  merely  negative.  On 
this  subject,  the  late  Dr.  Stuart,  of  Andover,  says,  "I  believe 
that  the  susceptibility  of  impression  from  sinful  and  enticing 
objects  belongs  to  the  tout  ensemble  of  our  nature, — not  to  the 
body  exclusively,  nor  to  the  soul  exclusively,  but,  from  their 
essential,  and  intimate  and  wonderful  connection,  to  the  tout 
ensemble  of  both, — i.e.  to  man.  I  believe  this  susceptibility  is 
innate,  connate,  original,  natural,  native,  or  whatever  else  one 
may  please  to  call  it,  by  way  of  thus  characterizing  it.    I  believe 


sect,  ii.]  Original  Sin  Inherent.  515 

that  it  commences  with  our  very  being,  in  a  sense  like  to  that 
in  which  an  oak-tree  commences  with  the  acorn.  I  believe  this 
susceptibility  to  be  such,  that  just  as  soon  as  there  is  growth 
and  maturity  enough  for  development,  it  will  develop  itself  in 
persuading  or  influencing  men — all  men — to  sin.  I  believe  this 
to  be  the  natural  state  of  fallen  man ;  while,  in  his  original  state, 
before  the  fall,  the  predominant  tendency  of  his  susceptibilities  was 
just  the  reverse  of  what  it  now  is.  Now,  what  more  or  less  than 
this  does  the  sober  and  discreet  advocate  of  the  doctrine  of  orisi- 

o 

nal  sin  contend  for  ?"*  Of  these  "  susceptibilities,"  he  says,  "  How 
can  we  maintain,  with  any  proper  consistency  and  regard  to  the 
real  nature  of  man,  and  the  character  of  God,  that  our  native 
susceptibilities  are  sins?1'  He  goes  on  to  assert  that  they  were 
in  Adam  and  the  fallen  angels  before  their  several  apostasies, 
and  that  the  Son  of  God  had  them.  "Indeed,"  says  he,  "can 
we  conceive  of  a  nature,  truly  human,  without  such  a  suscepti- 
bility? But  if  Adam,  in  his  original  state,  had  a  measure  of  this 
susceptibility, — if  the  Saviour  himself,  as  possessing  our  nature, 
had  a  measure  of  this, — how  are  we  going  to  make  out  a  suscepti- 
bility of  this  kind  to  be  in  itself  sin?  Was  Adam  a  sinner  be- 
fore his  fall?  Is  He,  who  knew  no  sin,  to  be  reputed  a  sinner, 
because  he  could  feel  the  power  of  enticement  to  sin?  These 
questions  do  not  need  a  specific  answer.  Why,  then,  should  we 
not  be  consistent  here,  in  theologizing  ?  That  which  Adam  pos- 
sessed as  a  constituent  of  his  very  nature,  before  his  fall, — that 
which  the  Saviour  himself  possessed,  when  he  was  'tempted  in 
all  points,  as  we  are,' — should  not  be  called,  sin.  How  can  we 
deem  it  safe,  and  discreet  and  proper,  thus  to  employ  language? 
And  if  it  is  not,  then  why  should  the  same  thing  be  called,  sin,  in 
infants,  at  the  present  time  ?  I  grant  that  the  proportion  of  this 
susceptibility  is  very  different  from  that  which  was  in  Adam  and 
in  the  Saviour.  In  the  latter,  the  susceptibilities  of  impression, 
or  of  excitement  to  action,  from  objects  good  and  holy,  were  alto- 
gether predominant ;  in  mankind,  since  the  fall,  and  in  their  un- 
renewed state  they  are  just  the  reverse. "f 

*  Amer.  Bib.  Repos.  July,  1839,  p.  48.  f  Ibid.  p.  50. 


516  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvii. 

The  susceptibilities  of  which  Dr.  Stuart  thus  speaks,  he  postu- 
lates, to  the  entire  exclusion  of  any  depraved  disposition,  or  any- 
thing which  constitutes  an  efficient  cause  of  sin,  as  native  in  the 
soul  of  man.  And  it  is  a  very  curious  illustration  of  the  inevi- 
table contradiction  and  absurdity  of  error,  that  this  writer,  in 
his  eagerness  to  get  rid  of  the  idea  that  any  thing  can  be  sin  but 
actions,  here  involves  himself  in  the  preposterous  assumption 
that  the  sinner  is  always  passive  in  sinning.  The  susceptibility 
which  he  describes,  is  an  innocent  liability  to  be  impelled  into 
acts  of  transgression  by  the  efficient  power  of  "sinful  and  enticing 
objects,"  which  are  external  to  the  soul.  By  the  force  of  these, 
availing  themselves  of  the  susceptibilities,  sin  is  induced,  and  that, 
as  an  unfailing  result : — "  Man,  in  his  native  state,  and  from  the 
origin  of  his  being,  has  the  germ  of  nascent  susceptibilities  of 
impression  by  objects  that  entice  to  sin;  and  these  will  with  cer- 
tainty lead  him  to  sin,  as  soon  as  he  is  capable  of  knowing  a  di- 
vine law,  and  of  voluntarily  disobeying  it."*  Now,  a  suscepti- 
bility is  altogether  a  passive  thing,  and  cannot  by  any  process 
be  made  any  thing  but  an  opportunity  for  the  operation  of  active 
causes;  and,  in  the  whole  of  the  discussion  of  Dr.  Stuart,  the  word 
is  used,  and  the  arguments  directed,  to  the  exclusion  of  any  de- 
praved disposition, — of  any  force,  in  the  nature  of  man,  producing 
sin.  We  must,  therefore,  look  to  some  other  quarter  for  the  effi- 
cient cause.  "We  are  thus  shut  up  to  the  conclusion,  that  the 
"sinful  and  enticing  objects"  of  which  our  author  makes  so  much 
account,  in  his  discussion,  are  forces  which  operate  efficiently,  and 
per  se,  to  impel  the  soul  into  acts  of  transgression.  The  reader 
will  at  once  recognise  the  relation  which  this  notion  sustains  to 
the  doctrine  of  Edwards,  on  the  subject  of  motives,  and  his  theory 
of  the  propagation  of  sin,  elsewhere  examined.  The  principle, 
as  employed  in  the  present  case  by  the  Andover  professor,  draws 
after  it  the  immediate  and  inevitable  conclusion  that,  however 
men  may  and  must  become  sinners,  by  the  force  of  circumstances, 
they  are  entirely  free  from  criminality.  Sin,  according  to  the 
theory,  is  actual  transgression  of  known  law ;  and  it  is  a  further 

*  Amer.  Bib.  Repos.  July,  1839,  p.  49.  ' 


sect,  iv.]  Original  Sin  Inherent.  517 

principle  of  the  same  theology,  as  we  have  already  seen,  that  the 
sinfulness  of  the  act  is  entirely  irrespective  of  its  cause.  Thus 
men  are  passively  borne  into  acts  of  transgression,  by  the  force 
of  "sinful  objects"  externally  operating  upon  their  innocent  sus- 
ceptibilities. In  this  way  actions  are  induced,  which,  according  to 
the  definition,  are  sins.  But,  then,  it  is  to  be  considered  that  an 
innocent  susceptibility  cannot  by  any  process  be  converted  into 
a  criminal  thing.  No  matter  how  powerfully  the  sinful  objects 
may  have  operated  upon  it, — no  matter  what  amount  of  sin  they 
may  have  produced  by  occasion  of  it, — the  susceptibility  remains 
but  a  susceptibility  to  the  last,  and  can  by  no  possible  process 
be  infected  with  the  criminality  of  which  it  is  the  passive  occa- 
sion, any  more  than  is  the  dagger  with  the  crime  of  which  it  has 
been  the  instrument.  This  theory,  therefore,  not  only  renders 
the  sinner  altogether  passive  in  the  commission  of  sin,  but  pre- 
cludes the  imputation  either  of  crime  or  depravity  to  the  most 
reckless  transgressor.  For,  agency  that  is  merely  passive, — and 
such  is  that  supposed,  so  far  forth  as  it  is  sinful, — is  not  crime 
in  a  man,  any  more  than  in  a  weapon ;  and  a  susceptibility  such 
as  is  here  supposed  can  never,  by  any  process,  be  changed  from 
a  passive  occasion  into  an  active  and  efficient  cause. 

Thus,  according  to  this  pretentious  but  shallow  philosophy, 
we  should  commiserate  the  wicked,  as  the  victims  of  an  innocent 
and  fatal  necessity,  rather  than  abhor  their  depravity,  and  re- 
cognise the  justice  of  God  in  its  punishment.  We  do  not  here 
urge  the  inconsistency  of  this  doctrine  with  the  teachings  of  the 
Scriptures.  This  has  been  already  demonstrated,  and  will  yet 
further  appear  in  the  sequel. 

3.  There  are  two  categories  under  which  the  depravity  which 
infects  our  nature  is  usually  described.  These  are, — the  want 
?d 5.  Elements  of  original  righteousness ;  and,  the  corruption  of 
of  drpmvity.  the  whole  nature.  They  are  not,  however,  to  be 
regarded  as  two  separable  items  in  the  case, — two  several  counts 
in  the  indictment ;  but  are  merely  two  distinct  aspects  in  which 
we  may  view  one  and  the  same  thing.  The  one  is  the  negative, 
and  the  other  the  positive,  statement  of  the  case.  As  a  gnarled 
stick  has  two  faults, — the  one,  that  it  is  not  straight ;  the  other, 


518  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvii. 

that  it  is  crooked, — so  man's  soul  has  in  it  two  evils  :  it  is  not 
conformed  to  the  law  of  God ;  and  it  is  hostile  to  that  law  and 
to  its  author.  Although,  however,  there  is  this  inseparable 
identity  in  the  two  aspects  of  the  case,  and  it  is  important  that 
their  unity  be  recognised  and  guarded,  still,  light  will  be  gained 
from  viewing  the  subject  in  these  several  aspects,  and  combining 
the  conclusions  which  result  from  each. 

In  exhibiting  the  image  of  God,  in  which  Adam  was  created, 
his  original  righteousness  was  described  as  consisting  in  a  pre- 
disposition of  his  nature  to  conformity  with  the  will  of  God,  as 
sovereign, — a  symmetry  and  harmony  of  all  his  powers  with  the 
law,  ready  to  fulfil  its  precepts,  and  inducing  works  of  obedience, 
so  soon  as  he  entered  on  the  sphere  of  action ;  and  his  holiness, 
as  a  conformity  of  all  his  affections  and  dispositions  to  God,  as 
the  Holy  One.  Correlative  is  the  distinction  between  man's 
native  want  of  righteousness,  and  the  corruption  of  his  nature. 
The  former  has  its  appropriate  aspect  toward  the  law, — the 
latter,  to  the  nature  of  the  Holy  One. 

That  man's  nature  is  not  now  conformed  to  the  law  of  God, — 
that  it  is  not  predisposed  to  obedience,-— we  need  not  pause  to 
Want  of  right-  prove.  On  this  subject,  so  conclusive  is  the  evi- 
eoumess.  dence  of  experience,  and  so  unambiguous  the  teach- 

ing of  inspiration,  that  there  is  entire  agreement  among  those 
who  pretend  to  reverence  the  Scriptures ;  and,  even  among 
deists,  it  is  rare  to  meet  with  the  assertion  of  the  contrary.  It 
is,  however,  necessary  to  emphasize  the  fact,  that  this  want  of 
original  righteousness  is  not  a  merely  negative  thing.  It  is  not 
mere  absence  of  positive  goodness.  Even  viewed  in  itself,  it  is 
actual  crime.  The  law  demands  conformity.  If  the  nature  fail 
to  meet  this  demand,  it  stands  in  a  criminal  attitude,  condemned 
at  the  bar  of  justice.     Of  this,  however,  we  have  already  spoken. 

But  the  want  of  righteousness,  although  of  itself  a  great 
moral  evil,  deserving  God's  righteous  curse,  is  the  mildest  aspect 
'Actuaidepra-  of  the  depravity  which  is  in  us.  The  evil  in  man's 
«%•  nature  consists  not  in  the  fact,  merely,  that  his  powers 

fail  of  conformity  to  the  demands  of  the  law ;  but  that  they 
occupy  an  attitude  of  direct  and  inveterate  antagonism  to  the 


sect,  v.]  Original  Sin  Inherent.  519 

law,  and  its  author,  the  Holy  One.  The  evil  is  not,  merely,  that 
his  voluntary  actions  are  sinful.  Nor  is  it,  only,  that  there 
is  an  antecedent  certainty  that  they  will  be  such.  But  it  is  such 
a  certainty,  arising  from  the  fact  that  the  effect  is  in  the  cause, 
and  will  flow  from  it.  Man's  actions  are  sinful  because  his  very 
nature  is  depraved.  Whilst  the  debasing  influence  is  traceable 
in  all  the  powers  of  body  and  soul,  especially  are  the  moral 
faculties,  the  reason,  conscience  and  will,  infected  by  the  malign 
power  of  the  apostasy. 

The  evidences  of  this  depravation  appear  in  the  reason,  in 
every  aspect  of  its  functions.  That  unerring  discrimination 
with  which,  in  Adam,  it  distinguished,  with  intuitive  clearness 
and  certainty,  between  the  truth  and  error,  is  gone.  Groping  in 
darkness  and  incertitude,  it  accepts  falsehood  with  a  facility 
refused  to  truth ;  and,  upon  foundations  of  error,  rears  fabrics 
of  pretentious  folly.  That  loftiness  of  aspiration  which  made 
the  great  things  of  God  its  congenial  themes  has  given  place  to 
a  proclivity  for  the  unworthy  and  grovelling.  Instead  of  a  pure 
spirituality,  which  was  exalted  above  all  sensual  and  fleshly 
influences,  it  has  become  a  slave  of  carnality  and  a  pander  to  the 
body.  And  that  spontaneous  and  unwearying  activity,  by  which 
once  it  was  characterized,  is  exchanged  for  a  spirit  of  self-in- 
dulgent indolence  and  stupidity.  In  short,  the  debased  condition 
of  man's  fallen  -reason  is  seen  in  the  gathering  gloom  of  bar- 
barism which  enshrouds  in  its  pall  those  nations  which  have  been 
longest  without  the  light  of  God's  word ;  and  in  the  polished 
sensuality  and  cultivated  ferocity  which  are  the  true  character- 
istics of  the  proudest  attainments  of  unevangelized  civilization, 
whether  of  olden  Greece  or  of  modern  Europe  and  x\sia. 

Such  is  the  condition  of  the  reason  of  man  in  his  fallen  state, — 
degraded  and  enslaved.  Its  most  signal  characteristics  are, 
blindness,  sensuality,  and  slothfulness,  and  proclivity  to  the  dust. 
Peculiarly  is  it  alien  to  the  light  and  knowledge  of  God.  Men 
have  "  the  understanding  darkened,  being  alienated  from  the  life 
of  God  through  the  ignorance  that  is  in  them,  because  of  the 
blindness  of  their  heart." — Eph.  iv.  18.  "  "When  they  knew 
God,  they  glorified  him  not  as  God,  neither  were  thankful ;  but 


520  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvii. 

became  vain  in  their  imaginations,  and  their  foolish  heart  was 
darkened.  Professing  themselves  to  be  wise,  they  became  fools, 
and  changed  the  glory  of  the  uncorruptible  God  into  an  image 
made  like  to  corruptible  man,  and  to  birds  and  four-footed  beasts 
and  creeping  things." — Rom.  i.  21-23. 

Still  more  deeply  has  the  apostasy  set  its  impress  on  the  moral 
sense  and  conscience.  The  sense  of  the  beauty  of  holiness  and 
deformity  of  sin  is  utterly  lost.  On  the  contrary,  to  the  per- 
verted conscience,  evil  assumes  the  guise  of  good,  and  sin  has 
more  attraction  than  holiness.  "The  natural  man  receiveth  not 
the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God ;  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him, 
neither  can  he  know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  dis- 
cerned."— 1  Cor.  ii.  14.  Hence  the  necessity  of  that  illumina- 
ting, as  well  as  transforming,  power,  of  which  the  people  of  God 
are  the  subjects.  "  We  have  received  not  the  spirit  of  the  world, 
but  the  Spirit  which  is  of  God;  that  we  might  know  the  things 
that  are  freely  given  to  us  of  God." — 1  Cor.  ii.  12.  Not  only, 
thus,  is  the  conscience  blind  to  the  truth  and  beauty  of  the 
things  of  God; — but,  whilst  unable  to  shake  off  the  sense  of 
God's  rightful  authority,  and  the  obligation  of  his  holy  law,  it 
wears  that  consciousness  as  it  were  a  galling  fetter;  and  is  ever 
disposed  to  a  traitorous  forgetfulness  of  the  claims  of  God,  and 
to  encourage  the  transgressor  in  dreams  of  safety  from  his 
righteous  curse.  The  wicked  blesses  himself,  and  says,  "I 
shall  have  peace,  though  I  walk  in  the  imagination  of  mine 
heart,  to  add  drunkenness  to  thirst." — Deut.  xxix.  19. 

Responsive  to  the  attitude  of  the  fallen  nature,  the  will  is 
apostate  and  perverse.  As  the  holy  affinities  which  were  ori- 
ginal in  the  nature  have  been  discarded,  and  the  opposite  em- 
braced, the  result  is  a  correspondent  bias  of  the  will  to  that 
which  is  evil,  and  opposition  to  the  good.  Hence,  the  experienco 
of  the  apostle,  who,  although  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  his  mind, 
found  the  remains  of  his  native  corruptions  so  powerful  that, 
when  he  would  do  good,  evil  was  always  present  with  him.  (Rom. 
vii.  15-21.)  To  the  same  purpose  is  the  challenge  with  which 
our  Saviour  emphasizes  the  inevitable  bent  of  the  will  of  men 
to  evil : — "  0  generation  of  vipers,  how  can  ye  being  evil  speak 


sect,  v.]  Original  Sin  Inherent.  521 

good  things?  for  out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth 
speaketh." — Matt.  xii.  34.  We  have  elsewhere  shown  that 
the  depravity  which  is  characteristic  of  man  implies  and  an- 
nounces an  attitude  of  his  powers,  in  antagonism  to  God, — an 
attitude  which  of  itself  constitutes  the  cause,  and  determines  the 
infallible  certainty  of  the  fact,  that  his  will  and  actions  are  in 
violation  of  the  holy  law,  and  hostile  to  God.  The  position  of  a 
globe,  on  the  pitch  of  a  declivity,  does  not  more  certainly  decide 
its  descent  to  the  bottom,  than  does  the  attitude  which  is  native 
to  the  powers  of  the  soul  determine  their  action  in  directions  con- 
trary to  the  law  and  holiness  of  God. 

The  doctrine  of  human  depravity  we  have  seen  fully  de- 
3  6.  Doctrine  of  veloped  in  the  epistle  to  the  Romans.  In  the  fol- 
the  Scriptures,  lowing  glance,  it  will  appear,  that  it  is  not  peculiar 
to  that  epistle,  nor  to  the  writings  of  Paul. 

1.  A  corruption  which  includes  all  men,  and  all  the  powers 
of  man,  is  asserted  in  the  Scriptures.  Before  the  flood,  "God 
saw  that  the  wickedness  of  man  was  great  in  the  earth,  and  that 
every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was  only  evil 
continually." — Gen.  vi.  5.  And,  lest  the  description  might  be 
supposed  appropriate  to  that  generation  alone,  the  same  language 
is  reiterated,  after  the  deluge,  in  respect  to  all  subsequent  genera- 
tions:— "I  will  not  again  curse  the  ground  any  more  for  man's 
sake,  for  (or,  though)  the  imagination  of  man's  heart  is  evil  from 
his  youth." — Gen.  viii.  21.  Says  the  Psalmist,  "  They  are  corrupt, 
they  have  done  abominable  works,  there  is  none  that  doeth  good. 
The  Lord  looked  down  from  heaven  upon  the  children  of  men, 
to  see  if  there  were  any  that  did  understand,  and  seek  God. 
They  are  all  gone  aside,  they  are  all  together  become  filthy : 
there  is  none  that  doeth  good,  no,  not  one." — Psalm  xiv.  1-3. 
"The  heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is  full  of  evil,  and  madness  is  in 
their  heart  while  they  live." — Eccles.  ix.  3.  "The  heart  is  de- 
ceitful above  all  things,  and  desperately  wicked :  who  can  know 
it?" — Jer.  xvii.  9.  The  unregenerate  are  described  as  "haters 
of  God," — Ptom.  i.  30;  "alienated  and  enemies  in  their  mind,  by 
wicked  works," — Col.  i.  21;  as  "walking  according  to  the  course 
of  this  world,  according  to  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air, 


522  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvii. 

the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience;" — 
"having  their  conversation  in  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  fulfilling  the 
desires  of  the  flesh,  and  of  the  mind." — Eph.  ii.  2,  3. 

2.  The  depravity  thus  charged  upon  man,  is  attributed  to  him 
as  an  original  trait.  Says  Eliphaz,  "What  is  man,  that  he 
should  be  clean?  and  he  which  is  born  of  a  woman,  that  he 
should  be  righteous  ?  Behold,  He  putteth  no  trust  in  his  saints ; 
yea,  the  heavens  are  not  clean  in  his  sight.  How  much  more 
abominable  and  filthy  is  man,  which  drinketh  iniquity  like 
water!" — Job  xv.  14.  Says  the  Psalmist,  "Behold,  I  was  shapen 
in  iniquity;  and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive  me." — Ps.  Ii.  5. 
"The  wicked  are  estranged  from  the  womb:  they  go  astray  as 
soon  as  they  be  born,  speaking  lies." — Ps.  lviii.  3. 

3.  Man's  depravity  is  referred  to  his  parentage  and  his  nature 
as  its  cause.  "Who  can  bring  a  clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean? 
not  one." — Job  xiv.  4.  "That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is 
flesh;  and  that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit.  Marvel 
not  that  I  said  unto  thee,  Ye  must  be  born  again." — John  iii.  6,  7. 
"Do  men  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles?  Even  so 
every  good  tree  bringeth  forth  good  fruit ;  but  a  corrupt  tree 
bringeth  forth  evil  fruit.  A  good  tree  cannot  bring  forth  evil 
fruit,  neither  can  a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit." — Matt, 
vii.  16-18.  "From  within,  out  of  the  heart  of  men,  proceed 
evil  thoughts,  adulteries,  fornications,  murders,  thefts,  covetous- 
ness,  wickedness,  deceit,  lasciviousness,  an  evil  eye,  blasphemy, 
pride,  foolishness ;  all  these  evil  things  come  from  within,  and 
defile  the  man." — Mark  vii.  21-23.  "Either  make  the  tree 
good,  and  his  fruit  good,  or  else  make  the  tree  corrupt,  and  his 
fruit  corrupt;  for  the  tree  is  known  by  his  fruit.  0  generation 
[or,  seed]  of  vipers,  how  can  ye,  being  evil,  speak  good  things? 
for  out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh.  A 
good  man,  out  of  the  good  treasure  of  the  heart,  bringeth  forth 
good  things ;  and  an  evil  man,  out  of  the  evil  treasure,  bringeth 
forth  evil  things." — Matt.  xii.  33-35. 

4.  The  depravity  which  is  thus  natively  in  men,  is  represented 
as  justly  exposing  them  to  God's  vindictive  curse;  prior  to,  and  ir- 
respective of,  their  actual  sins.     "  By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the 


sect,  vi.]  Original  Sin  Inherent.  523 

world,  and  death  by  sin ;  and  so  to  all  men  death  passed  through 
the  one  in  whom  all  sinned." — Rom.  v.  12.  "In  Adam  all  die." 
— 1  Cor.  xv.  22.  Men  are  "by  nature  the  children  of  wrath." — 
Eph.  ii.  3. 

The  ruin  into  which  man  is  thus  fallen  is,  by  him,  without 
remedy.  He  can  neither  love  God,  obey  his  law,  nor  trust  in 
§  7.  Total  Christ  when  he  is  revealed.  Says  our  Saviour  to 
inability.  the  Jews,    "No  man  can  come  to  me,  except  the 

Father  which  hath  sent  me  draw  him." — John  vi.  44. 

Fundamental  to  any  reconciliation  of  man  with  God,  there 
must  be  such  an  illumination  of  the  understanding,  that  he  shall 
realize  the  very  truth,  the  importance  and  the  excellence  of  the 
things  of  God.  But,  that  man  is,  naturally  and  in  himself,  dis- 
qualified to  apprehend  these  things,  is,  constantly  and  in  the 
most  unambiguous  manner,  asserted  in  the  Scriptures;  as  we 
have  already  seen.  In  one  word,  the  apostle  declares  that,  "If 
our  gospel  be  hid,  it  is  hid  to  them  that  are  lost ;  in  whom  the 
god  of  this  world  hath  blinded  the  minds  of  them  which  believe 
not,  lest  the  light  of  the  glorious  gospel  of  Christ,  who  is  the 
image  of  God,  should  shine  unto  them." — 2  Cor.  iv.  3,  4.  Thus, 
groping  in  darkness,  and  involved  in  ignorance,  men  can  neither 
realize  the  evil  of  their  own  condition,  the  excellency  of  God, 
nor  the  necessity  of  return  to  him ;  nor  can  they  know  the  way. 

But  this  is  not  the  worst  of  the  evil.  Dark  as  is  man's  un- 
derstanding, and  perverted  as  is  his  conscience,  he  has  sufficient 
light  to  bring  him  under  a  conscious  condemnation  for  the  per- 
version of  his  affections  from  truth  and  holiness.  When  God 
reveals  himself  in  his  providence  and  word,  so  that  men  are 
compelled  to  a  certain  recognition  of  him,  they  do  not  love,  but 
hate  him.  And  this  our  Saviour  himself  declares  to  be  the 
condemnation,  "that  light  is  come  into  the  world,  and  men 
loved  darkness  rather  than  light." — John  iii.  19.  Men  are 
"haters  of  God."  They  "like  not  to  retain  God  in  their  know- 
ledge."—Rom.  i.  28,  30. 

But  where  is  to  be  found,  in  the  range  of  that  ability  of  which 
men  boast,  a  remedy  for  vile  and  perverted  affections,  and  a  hos- 
tile nature?    How  shall  we  persuade  the  natural  man,  to  delight 


524  The  EloTtim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvii. 

in  God?  Shall  we  enlarge  on  his  holiness,  his  justice,  his  infinite 
excellence?  Alas!  these  are  the  very  things  which  the  carnal 
mind  both  dreads  and  hates.  Describe  to  it,  the  pantheon  of 
Greek  mythology; — depict  the  orgies  of  Babylonian  or  Cyprian 
worship,  the  pleasures  of  a  Mohammedan  or  Brahminical  heaven, 
and  you  will  arouse  responsive  emotions.  But  God,  in  his  true 
and  holy  character,  the  experience  of  the  whole  world  concurs 
with  the  apostle  to  testify,  men  dislike  to  retain  in  their  know- 
ledge ;  and,  to  escape  from  it,  they  have  grovelled  in  the  worship 
of  beasts,  and  loathsome  things,  and  devils.  "The  carnal  mind 
is  enmity;" — and  to  hope  that  it  may  be  persuaded  to  love,  is  to 
imagine  that  in  the  harsh  and  jarring  notes  of  hatred  there  is 
an  under  strain  of  concord  and  harmony.  It  is  to  confound  all 
distinction  of  the  affections, — to  suppose  that  malignity  can 
delight  in  excellence,  and  depravity  melt  into  admiring  love  of 
holiness.  It  is  not  therefore  true,  that  man  in  his  depravity  can 
repent,  hate  sin,  love  God,  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  or 
come  to  him; — expressions,  which,  so  far  as  the  present  question 
is  concerned,  are  identical  in  their  purport.  By  the  fall  he  not 
only  cast  off  holiness  and  embraced  corruption,  but  sealed  him- 
self to  sin,  and  to  ruin,  as  their  helpless  prey.  His  loss  is  not 
an  injury,  merely;  but  an  utter  destruction. 

We  have  entirely  disregarded  the  distinction  between  natural 
and  moral  ability.  It  has  no  countenance  in  the  word  of  God. 
§8.  "Natural  It  is  founded  in  an  incorrect  and  deceptive  use  of 
ability."  language ;  and  is  exceedingly  dangerous  in  its  prac- 

tical tendency.  It  is  asserted,  that  man's  inability  to  obey  God 
consists  solely  in  a  perverse  inclination ;  and,  in  favourite  lan- 
guage, it  is  said  that  "cannot"  means  " will  not."  Men  have 
even  gone  so  far  as  to  lay  down  prescriptions,  by  way  of  instruct- 
ing the  impenitent  how  to  make  themselves  new  hearts ! 

The  first  thing  which  we  here  notice  is  the  psychological  ab- 
surdity of  treating  the  will  as  though  it  were  something  distinct 
and  separate  from  the  substance  of  the  soul.  It  is  supposed  to 
have  fallen  a  prey  to  the  power  of  sin,  whilst  the  other  powers 
have  escaped  the  infection.  Since  the  will  is  nothing  else  than 
the   soul    itself,   contemplated   in    reference   to  its   power   of 


sect,  vii.]  Original  Sin  Inherent.  525 

choosing, — and  since  its  determinations  are,  necessarily  and  uni- 
versally, responsive  to  the  nature, — it  is  absurd,  as  we  have  seen 
it  to  be  unscriptural,  to  imagine  that  the  will  can  be  corrupt 
and  the  other  powers  remain  in  their  integrity. 

Further,  it  is  impossible  to  reconcile  with  reverence  for  the 
word  of  God,  the  assertion,  that  in  its  pages,  "  cannot"  means 
"  will  not."  Is  it  so,  that  the  Spirit  of  inspiration  and  the  Son 
of  God  were  ignorant  of  the  force  of  language,  and  said  one 
thing  when  they  designed  another?  Or  will  the  no  more  impious 
alternative  be  adopted,  that  the  language  is  used  with  design  to 
deceive  ?  A  candid  examination  of  such  places  as  John  vi.  65, 
will  satisfy  the  reader  that  the  very  design  of  the  statement  was 
to  account  for  the  prevalence  of  the  "  will  not"  among  the  unre- 
generate.  "Doth  this  offend  you?  What  and  if  ye  shall  see 
the  Son  of  Man  ascend  up  where  he  was  before  ?  It  is  the  Spirit 
that  quickeneth ;  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing :  the  words  that  I 
speak  unto  you,  they  are  spirit  and  they  are  life.  But  there  are 
some  of  you  that  believe  not.  .  .  .  Therefore  said  I  unto  you,  that 
no  man  can  come  unto  me,  except  it  were  given  unto  him  of  my 
Father." — Some  of  you  believe  not ;  and  it  was  in  reference  to 
this  fact  that  I  stated  the  reason : — it  is, — that  no  man  can  come 
to  me  of  himself. 

Should  any  one  be  ready  to  repudiate  all  these  absurd  and 
unscriptural  ideas,  and  yet  insist  upon  the  propriety  of  the  dis- 
tinction between  natural  and  moral  ability,  we  must  object,  for 
several  reasons. 

1.  If  any  fixed  significance  is  to  be  attached  to  language,  the 
word  "  ability"  expresses  competence  to  accomplish  the  thing 
contemplated.  By  "  natural  ability"  is  meant,  in  the  view  now 
considered,  the  fact  that  man  has  reason,  conscience  and  will; 
and  is  capable  of  the  affections  of  love,  hatred,  joy,  sorrow, 
pity,  and  so  on.  It  is  admitted  that  these  are  all  perverted,  and 
that  nothing  less  than  almighty  power  can  restore  them  to  their 
right  attitude.  Now,  we  ask,  is  it  correct  use  of  language  to 
say,  that  because  man  has  the  affection  of  love, — because  he 
spontaneously  loves  sin,  therefore  he  has  a  natural  ability,  at 
pleasure,  to  hate  sin  and  love  holiness? — that  because,  under 


526  The  EloJdm  Revealed.  [chap.  xvii. 

certain  circumstances,  emotions  of  sorrow  instinctively  arise,  it 
follows  that  he  has  a  natural  ability  to  sorrow  for  sin  ?  It  is 
as  though  we  should  say,  that  one  is  able  to  speak,  because  his 
vocal  organs  are  perfect  in  form,  though  paralyzed.  It  is  as  if 
we  should  examine  the  machinery  of  an  engine,  and,  upon  find- 
ing each  piston  and  cylinder,  each  wheel  and  lever,  perfectly 
shaped  and  rightly  adjusted,  assert  it  to  be  able  to  start  forward 
and  perform  its  office,  although  the  motive  power  is  wanting. 
The  most  perfect  intellectual  machine  can  have  no  ability  to 
moral  action,  unless  the  moral  power  is  attached.  And  as  it  is 
acknowledged  that  the  moral  power  is  wanting  in  fallen  man, 
ability  to  right  moral  action  is  entirely  wanting.  The  natural 
faculties  must  fail,  impotent  as  the  palsied  tongue,  powerless  and 
still  as  the  steamless  engine.  We  cannot  properly  assert  ability, 
in  any  case  in  which  full  power  to  do  is  not  present. 

2.  This  lame  and  untenable  conception  is  logically  identified 
with  the  doctrine  that  ability  must  be  commensurate  with  obli- 
gation,— a  doctrine,  in  its  turn,  immediately  leading  to  the  heresy 
of  perfectionism.  The  command  is,  "  Be  ye  perfect,  even  as 
your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  is  perfect."  If  the  doctrine  be 
true,  this  command  involves  the  assertion  of  a  power  in  all  men 
to  be  perfectly  conformed  to  the  image  of  God.  They  are  con- 
sistent who  have  accepted  the  conclusion,  and  asserted  for  them- 
selves the  attainment  of  a  sinless  state, — of  which  John  says 
they  who  claim  it  "  deceive  themselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in 
them." — 1  John  i.  8.  How  different  the  teachings  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, which  unfold  the  eternal  law  of  God,  unlimited  by  the  sin 
and  frailty  of  man  !  Copied  from  the  perfections  of  the  Holy  One, 
they  bear  inscribed  on  every  page  the  righteous  mandate,  and 
the  inexorable  curse,  upon  "  every  one  that  continueth  not  in 
all  things  that  are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them." 

3.  The  distinction  indicated  by  the  phrases,  "  natural  and 
moral  ability,"  is  without  a  shadow  of  countenance  in  the  Scrip- 
tures. They,  everywhere,  regardless  of  any  such  philosophical 
subtleties,  assert  man's  inability,  in  the  most  absolute  and  un- 
limited terms.  The  gratuitous  introduction  of  the  phraseology 
here  considered,  thus  contrary  to  inspired  example,  and  at  vari- 


sect,  viii.]  Original  Sin  Inherent.  527 

ance  with  sound  reason  and  the  analogy  of  faith,  could  not, 
therefore,  but  be  dangerous.  As  experience  has  too  fully  proved, 
it  is  most  disastrous, — ensnaring  unregenerate  souls  into  a  false 
confidence  and  fatal  hopes,  and  beguiling  the  ministry  away 
from  the  simplicity  and  truth  of  the  gospel. 

The  catastrophe  of  the  fall,  was,  therefore,  not  only  an  evil  of 
infinite  moral  enormity,  but  still  further  calamitous,  as  by  it  man 
was  plunged  in  a  returnless  abyss  of  iniquity  and  woe. 

We  have  seen,  that  when  Adam  sinned  there  were  two  distinct 
elements  inseparably  identified  in  the  action, — the  apostasy  of 
§9.  The  crime  his  heart  and  nature  from  God;  and,  as  an  imme- 
°ne-  diate  and  necessary  consequence  of  this,  the  overt 

act  of  transgression.  Again,  involved  as  essential  and  insepa- 
rable elements  in  the  apostasy,  were  the  two  constituents  already 
pointed  out, — the  departure  from  original  righteousness,  and  the 
corruption  of  man's  nature.  Original  righteousness  was  lost, 
not  by  an  active  interposition  of  God,  taking  it  from  the  apostate 
pair;  but  by  virtue  of  the  fact,  that  the  embrace  of  sin  was  of 
itself  the  casting  off  of  righteousness.  To  say  that  man  apos- 
tatized, is,  in  other  words,  to  say,  that  he  made  himself  unright- 
eous. By  the  act,  he  abandoned  the  attitude  of  conformity  to 
the  law,  and  assumed  that  of  alienation.  The  second  incident 
in  the  apostasy,  was  the  insurrection  of  the  powers  of  Adam's 
soul  against  God,  and  the  assumption  of  an  attitude  of  enmity 
toward  him.  Not  as  though  this  was  a  consequence  following 
after  the  transgression,  and  springing  out  of  it.  But  the  apos- 
tasy itself  was  the  assuming  of  a  depraved  attitude, — the  em- 
brace of  corruption;  and  the  depravity  of  his  subsequent  life 
was  nothing  but  the  apostasy  perpetuated : — its  turpitude  is  that 
of  the  very  apostasy  itself.  The  point  which  is  here  of  import- 
ance, is,  that  the  loss  of  original  righteousness,  and  the  corrup- 
tion of  nature,  are  not  only  one  and  the  same  thing,  viewed 
under  two  different  aspects,  but  that  they  are  the  very  soul  and 
essence  of  the  apostasy  itself, — things  without  which  it  could 
not  exist, — ■which  could  have  had  no  existence  except  by  the 
apostasy, — and  which,  as  long  as  they  continue,  are  neither  more 
nor  less  than  the  first  sin  perpetuated.     Hence  the  great  pro- 


528  The  Elolxim  Revealed.  [chap.  xvii. 

priety  of  that  designation,  by  which  Augustine,  and  after  him 
the  entire  church  of  God,  is  accustomed  to  call  these  incidents 
of  the  first  transgression, — the  original  sin.  Now,  original  sin 
is  not  one  thing  in  Adam,  and  another  in  his  posterity;  but  it 
is,  in  him,  and  in  them,  one  and  the  same  thing.  The  apostasy 
is  one,  in  all  men.  In  all,  its  incidents  are  identically  the  same, 
and  inseparable  from  it.  "By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the 
world,  and  death  by  sin,  and  so  to  all  men  death  passed  through 
the  one  in  whom  all  sinned." 

The  conclusions,  to  which  we  are  led  by  the  whole  testimony 
of  the  Scriptures  on  the  subject,  are: — that  there  is  a  principle 
,  ,„  „     ,  inherent  in  the  souls  of  men,  which  is  hostile  to 

#  10.  Conclusion. 

God; — that  it  originated  in  the  apostasy  of  our 
first  parents  from  God,  and  is  that  apostasy  derived  from  them, 
and  abiding  in  their  seed; — that  it  exerts  an  absolute  control 
over  the  entire  moral  character  of  unrenewed  men,  ruling  their 
affections,  and  guiding  all  their  actions ; — that  hence  their  affec- 
tions are  natively  and  inveterately  averse  to  God;  and  their 
actions  at  variance  with  his  law ; — that  this  principle  is  properly 
sin,  and  is  in  fact  that  to  which  the  name  principally  applies, — 
as  being  the  primary,  fundamental  and  essential  sin,  which  ori- 
ginates all  actual  transgressions,  and  imparts  to  them  their 
moral  enormity; — that  these  latter  are  not  so  properly  called, 
sins,  as, — the  workings  of  sin, — the  fruits  of  sin,  (Rom.  vii. 
5,  8;)  that  is,  of  this  inherent  principle  of  depravity  in  the 
heart; — and,  that  this  original  sin, — alike  as  it  is  the  apostasy 
of  our  nature,  in  the  person  of  Adam,  and  persistent  alienation, 
or  depravity,  in  our  own, — is  our  crime,  is  of  infinite  enormity, 
and,  according  to  the  requirements  of  the  holy  law,  and  the  de- 
mands of  divine  justice,  involves  us  under  the  whole  burden  of 
the  infinite  curse  of  God;  whence  we  are  by  nature  children  oi 
wrath. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

PROPAGATION   OF   ORIGINAL   SIN. 

It  will  not  be  necessary  to  go  to  any  length  in  explaining  the 
way  in  which  original  sin  is  propagated  from  onr  first  parents 
g  1.  The  doc-  to  their  seed.  The  principles  upon  which  the  result 
trim.  depends   have  been  sufficiently  developed  already. 

Our  first  parents  apostatized  from  God,  and  depraved  them- 
selves. Their  posterity  were  "in  their  loins,  as  branches  in  the 
root,"* — as  members  in  the  body;  and,  as  the  deed  attached  to 
all  that  was  in  them,  it  therefore  belongs  to  us.  "We  existed, 
and  consented  and  sinned,  in  our  cause, — in  the  one  Adam."f 
The  common  nature  of  all  was  in  him.  His  sin  was  the  apostasy 
from  God  of  this  common  nature.  And,  as  the  nature,  thus  apos- 
tate and  depraved,  flows  by  ordinary  descent  to  the  successive 
generations  of  men,  it  everywhere  verifies  its  identity  by  the  cor- 
ruption and  enmity  to  God,  which  it  conveys  from  the  first  pa- 
rents to  all.  On  this  subject  the  argument  is  brief  and  simple, 
and  the  conclusion  unavoidable.  That  the  sin  of  Adam  was  a 
depravation  of  his  nature,  as  well  as  an  act  of  sin,  we  have 
demonstrated,  and  can  scarcely  be  questioned.  That  there  was 
in  him  any  other  than  the  depravity  thus  originated,  no  one  will 
pretend.  "We  have  seen  it  to  be  the  unanimous  and  unambiguous 
testimony  of  the  Scriptures,  that  the  sinfulness  of  his  seed  is  de- 
rived from  him.  If  this  be  so,  then  is  it  one  and  the  same,  nu- 
merically, with  that  which  was  in  him.  But,  in  him  its  elements 
were  two, — to  wit : — apostasy,  and  corruption, — the  entrance  of 
depravity,  and  the  depravity  which  entered.  Both  of  these, 
therefore,  are  elements  in  that  which  flows  from  him  to  his  pos- 

*  Westminster  Sum  of  Christian  Doctrine,  head  i.  g  3.     Confession,  ch.  vi.  g  3. 
|  Van  Mastricht,  Lib.  iv.  cap.  ii.  24. 

34  529 


530  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap,  xviii. 

terity.  The  corruption,  which  is  found  in  all  the  race  of  man. 
is  either  numerically  one  and  the  same,  in  all  the  members  of 
the  race,  or  it  is  diverse  in  them  severally.  But  if  it  be  diverse, 
then  each  individual  has  a  distinct  and  several  depravity,  original 
in  and  peculiar  to  him ;  and  the  corruption  of  the  children  is  not 
derived  from  their  parents,  although  it  be  like  theirs,  and  that 
of  the  whole  race.  In  this  case,  the  doctrine  of  original  sin, — 
of  the  apostasy  and  depravation  of  the  race,  in  Adam, — is  repu- 
diated, and  the  depravity  is  to  be  attributed  to  one  of  two  causes, 
— either  the  creative  power  of  God,  or  the  personal  and  several 
apostasy  of  each  individual.  On  the  contrary,  if  the  depravity 
be  "  conveyed  from  our  first  parents  unto  their  posterity  by 
natural  generation,"  as  our  Confession  asserts,  then  it  is,  and 
continues  to  be,  numerically,  one  and  the  same  thing  in  Adam, 
and  all  the  generations  to  whom  it  is  conveyed  from  him.  By 
a  just  judgment  of  God,  the  sin  which  our  first  parents  embraced 
was  left  in  possession  of  the  nature  which  had  yielded  to  its 
power;  and,  as  we  receive  that  nature,  it  comes  not  only  bur- 
dened with  the  guilt  of  its  crime,  but  bound  under  the  depravity 
which  then  gained  dominion. 

Here,  it  is  necessary  carefully  to  distinguish  between  two 
things  which  widely  differ,  although  not  unfrequently  con- 
z  2  Sin  is  founded  with  each  other, — that  is,  the  penal  aban- 
sometimes  pe-  donment  of  the  creature  to  the  bondage  of  his 
naL  already  existing  corruption,  and  the  penal  infusion 

of  depravity  into  one  as  yet  undefiled. 

That,  in  the  former  sense,  sin  may  be,  and  often  is,  the  punish- 
ment of  sin,  is  unquestionable.  This  it  may  be  in  two  ways. 
(1.)  The  sin  of  one  may  be  the  punishment  of  the  sin  of  another. 
Thus,  God  says  to  David,  ""Now  therefore  the  sword  shall  never 
depart  from  thy  house,  because  thou  hast  despised  me,  and  hast 
taken  the  wife  of  Uriah  the  Hittite  to  be  thy  wife." — 2  Sam.  xii. 
10.  Hence  the  crimes  and  blood  which  thenceforward  charac- 
terized the  house  of  that  man  of  God.  So,  in  Isaiah  we  read, 
"0  Assyrian,  the  rod  of  mine  anger,  and  the  staff  in  their  hand 
is  mine  indignation.  I  will  send  him  against  a  hypocritical  na- 
tion, and  against  the  people  of  my  wrath  will  I  give  him  a  charge, 


sect,  i.]  Propagation  of  Original  Sin.  531 

to  take  the  spoil,  and  to  take  the  prey,  and  to  tread  them  down 
like  the  mire  of  the  streets.  Howbeit  he  meaneth  not  so,  neither 
doth  his  heart  think  so ;  but  it  is  in  his  heart  to  destroy  and  cut 
off  nations  not  a  few.  .  .  .  Therefore  shall  the  Lord,  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  send  among  his  fat  ones  leanness;  and  under  his  glory  he 
shall  kindle  a  burning  like  the  burning  of  fire." — Isa.  x.  5-7,  16. 
(2.)  Again,  a  person  may  be  penally  left  to  the  unrestrained  power 
of  his  own  corruptions  and  sins,  because  of  his  love  of  them. 
Thus  Paul  declares,  that,  because  men  receive  not  the  love  of 
the  truth,  "  God  shall  send  them  strong  delusion,  that  they  should 
believe  a  lie :  that  they  all  might  be  damned  who  believed  not 
the  truth,  but  had  pleasure  in  unrighteousness." — 2  Thess.  ii.  11, 
12.  The  language  of  the  same  apostle,  in  another  place,  illus- 
trates his  meaning,  here: — "If  our  gospel  be  hid,  it  is  hid  to 
them  that  are  lost :  in  whom  the  god  of  this  world  hath  blinded 
the  minds  of  them  which  believe  not,  lest  the  light  of  the  glorious 
gospel  of  Christ,  who  is  the  image  of  God,  should  shine  unto 
them." — 2  Cor.  iv.  3,  4.  If  we  need  any  further  illustration  of 
the  meaning  of  all  this,  we  have  it  from  James: — "Let  no  man 
say,  when  he  is  tempted,  I  am  tempted  of  God;  for  God  cannot 
be  tempted  with  evil,  neither  tempteth  he  any  man :  but  every 
man  is  tempted  when  he  is  drawn  away  of  his  own  lust,  and  en- 
ticed."— James  i.  13,  14.  We  may,  then,  lay  down  as  unques- 
tionable these  several  propositions : — 

1.  Neither  is  God  the  author  or  efficient  cause  of  sin,  in  any 
case;  nor  does  he  ever  exert  his  efficiency  in  arousing  sin  into 
action,  where  it  already  exists. 

2.  Such  is  the  constitution  of  moral  agents,  that  sin  cannot 
occur,  unless  the  affections  and  the  whole  moral  nature  yield  to 
its  embrace.  Hence,  the  very  fact  of  sin  existing  implies  such 
a  state  of  the  case  as  leaves  nothing  upon  which  to  predicate  the 
idea  of  the  sinner's  unaided  return.  By  the  act  of  apostasy  he 
enslaves  himself  to  the  corruptions  thus  engendered.  Hence, 
the  natural  tendency  of  the  wicked  is  to  a  growing  intensity  of 
enmity  against  God,  and  habitually  increasing  indulgence  in  pol- 
lution and  sin. 

3.  So  far  from  God  causing  or  cherishing  sin,  the  reverse  is 


532  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap,  xviii. 

always  the  case.  This  side  of  hell,  his  hand  is  never  withdrawn, 
but  in  every  instance  exerts  a  constant  restraint,  of  greater  or 
less  extent,  upon  the  corruptions  of  men, — only  permitting  them 
to  have  liberty  so  far  as  serves  to  accomplish  his  own  holy  de- 
signs. "Surely  the  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  thee:  the  remain- 
der of  wrath  shalt  thou  restrain." — Psalm  lxxvi.  10. 

4.  Sin  is  not  only  evil,  in  that  it  is  pursued  with  the  curse  of 
God,  but  it  is  evil  in  itself,  though  it  had  never  been  accursed, 
— the  greatest  evil  in  the  universe.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
best  blessing  which  creature  can  receive,  is  the  favourable  pre- 
sence, communion  and  smiles  of  his  Maker,  keeping  him  from 
sin,  and  upholding  him  in  holiness.  A  modified  form  of  the 
same  blessing  consists  in  that  partial  restraint  upon  the  corrup- 
tions of  sinners,  which  has  just  been  mentioned.  Hence,  one 
element  in  the  curse  of  the  law,  and  among  the  most  fearful,  is 
the  abandonment  of  the  wicked  by  the  gracious  Creator; — the 
withdrawal  of  his  restraining  power  and  beneficent  countenance, 
and  surrender  of  the  sinner  to  the  tyranny  of  his  own  vile  and 
malignant  lusts  and  passions, — for  love  of  which  he  has  rejected 
the  truth,  rebelled  against  God  and  apostatized  from  holiness. 

5.  God  does  often,  in  just  displeasure,  here  on  earth,  thus  deal 
both  with  individuals  and  communities;  for  their  rejection  of 
his  testimony  and  refusal  of  his  love,  leaving  them  to  their  own 
delusions  and  to  the  snares  of  Satan.  The  penal  fearfulness  of 
such  a  dispensation  consists  in  three  things  : — the  abandonment 
of  the  creature  by  its  blessed  Creator,  who  is  the  fountain  of  all 
good  and  blessedness ;  the  evil  of  the  depravity  and  sin,  the 
dominion  of  which  is  thus  permitted;  and  the  consequent 
heavier  curse  which  reigning  sin  heaps''  up  against  the  day  of 
wrath. 

6.  In  all  this,  we  repeat  it,  God  neither  originates,  cherishes 
nor  excites  into  action,  depravity,  which  he  abhors.  On  the 
contrary,  the  very  nature  of  that  trait  of  his  administration 
which  is  here  considered  implies,  as  essential  to  it,  the  pre-exist- 
ence  of  sin  in  the  subject  of  such  dealing, — his  prior  free  and 
spontaneous  apostasy  from  God,  and  choice  and  embrace  of 
corruption  and  enmity. 


sect,  ii.]  Propagation  of  Original  Sin.  533 

These  principles,  duly  considered,  will  greatly  assist  in  at- 
taining to  clearness  respecting  the  propagation  of  original  sin. 
In  creating  man,  his  Maker  so  guarded  him  around  that  sin  and 
consequent  misery  were  impossible  unless  the  whole  nature  were 
surrendered  to  the  malign  and  accursed  influence.  When  man 
apostatized,  God,  by  a  dispensation  of  righteous  judgment,  left 
the  depravity,  thus  generated,  to  full  possession  of  the  nature. 
He  permitted  it,  unrestrained,  to  spread,  with  that  nature  and 
in  it,  to  each  succeeding  generation  to  which  the  nature  flows 
by  ordinary  descent.  Thus,  the  propagation  of  original  sin,  as 
testified  by  the  great  body  of  the  Reformed,  is  consequent  upon 
the  just  judgment  of  God ;  but  this,  not  by  a  punitive  insertion 
of  depravity,  where  it  was  not  already ;  but  by  a  penal  abandon- 
ment of  man  to  the  corruption  which  he  had  embraced, — a  de- 
clining to  purge  the  already  defiled  nature  and  cleanse  the 
polluted  fountain  of  the  race.  And  the  nature  whence  all  spring 
being  thus  left  corrupt  in  the  father  of  all,  the  depraved  result 
was  inevitable.  "For  who  can  bring  a  clean  thing  out  of  an  un- 
clean?    Not  one." 

The  doctrine  of  Edwards,  on  the  subject  of  second  causes, 
involves  him  in  inextricable  difficulties  on  the  whole  subject  of 
I  3.  EdwanW  the  origin,  propagation  and  actings  of  sin.  If,  as 
doctrine.  ne  teaches,  God  be  the  immediate  and  only  cause 

of  all  effects,  then,  evidently,  he  is  the  sole  cause  of  sin,  in 
every  aspect  of  it.  This  conclusion,  so  fatal  to  his  whole  theory, 
Edwards  attempts  to  evade  by  appeal  to  the  distinction  between  a 
privative  and  a  positive  cause.  He  says  that  "  to  account  for  a 
sinful  corruption  of  nature,  yea,  a  total  native  depravity  of  the 
heart  of  man,  there  is  not  the  least  need  of  supposing  any  evil 
quality  infused,  implanted  or  wrought  into  the  nature  of  man, 
by  any  positive  cause  or  influence  whatsoever,  either  from  God  or 
the  creature ;  or  of  supposing  that  man  is  conceived  and  born 
with  a  fountain  of  evil  in  his  heart  such  as  is  any  thing  properly 
positive.  .  .  .  The  case  with  man  was  plainly  this : — When  God 
made  man  at  first,  he  implanted  in  him  two  kinds  of  prin- 
ciples. There  was  an  inferior  kind,  which  may  be  called 
natural,  being  the  principles  of  mere  human  nature,  such  as 


534  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap,  xviii. 

self-love,  with,  those  natural  appetites  and  passions  which  belong 
to  the  nature  of  man,  in  which  his  love  to  his  own  liberty, 
honour  and  pleasure  were  exercised.  These,  when  alone  and 
left  to  themselves,  are  what  the  Scriptures  sometimes  call  flesh. 
Besides  these,  there  were  superior  principles,  that  were  spiritual, 
holy  and  divine,  summarily  comprehended  in  divine  love : 
wherein  consisted  the  spiritual  image  of  God,  and  man's  right- 
eousness and  true  holiness ;  which  are  called  in  the  Scriptures  the 
divine  nature.  These  principles  may,  in  some  sense,  be  called 
supernatural.  .  .  .  When  man  sinned,  and  broke  God's  covenant, 
and  fell  under  his  curse,  these  superior  principles  left  his  heart, 
for,  indeed,  God  then  left  him.  .  .  .  Therefore,  immediately, 
the  superior  divine  principles  wholly  ceased :  so  light  ceases  in 
a  room  when  the  candle  is  withdrawn.  And  thus  man  was  left 
in  a  state  of  darkness,  woeful  corruption  and  ruin ;  nothing  but 
flesh,  without  spirit.  ...  It  were  easy  to  show  how  every  lust 
and  depraved  disposition  of  man's  heart  would  naturally  arise 
from  this  privative  original,  if  here  were  room  for  it."* 

Let  it  be  observed  that  the  question  is  not,  whether  cor- 
ruption or  sin  is  a  physical  thing, — a  substance,  material  or  im- 
material, inhering  in  the  soul, — but,  what  is  the  cause  of  sin? 
The  view  developed,  by  our  author,  on  the  whole  subject  is  en- 
tirely inadequate  and  erroneous.  Every  creature  of  God,  so  far 
forth  as  it  is  his  creature,  is  perfectly  good.  All  its  attributes 
and  functions,  and  all  their  normal  exercises,  are  good.  Adam 
was  not  endowed  with  one  set  of  attributes  by  which  he  was 
constituted  a  man,  and  another  by  which  he  was  a  holy  being. 
Take  from  him  those  faculties,  in  the  right  exercise  of  which  he 
displayed  the  image  of  his  spotless  Maker,  and,  in  so  doing,  you 
rob  him,  not  so  much  of  holiness,  as  of  humanity.  His  right- 
eousness consisted  in  the  right  tendency  and  exercise  of  his 
moral  powers,  and  his  apostasy  and  corruption  was  the  reverse. 
So,  too,  in  regard  to  the  daily  actions  of  men.  The  character 
is  not  determined  by  the  nature  or  quality,  but  by  the  object,  of 
the  exercises  and  affections.     Hatred  itself,  however  intense,  is 

*  Edwards  on  Original  Sin,  Part  iv.  ch.  2. 


sect,  in.]  Projmgation  of  Original  Sin.  535 

not  sin,  unless  directed  to  a  wrong  object.  God  and  all  holy 
beings  hate  sin  with  perfect  hatred.  Love,  even,  has  in  itself 
no  virtue,  except  as  it  is  rightly  bestowed.  The  wicked  are 
lovers;  but  "lovers  of  their  own  selves,"  "lovers  of  pleasure 
more  than  lovers  of  God,"  lovers  of  sin,  and  therefore  hateful  to 
God.  Corruption  and  sin,  then,  do  not  proceed  from  a  privative 
cause ;  but  from  the  movement  of  the  moral  powers  in  wrong 
directions.  Here,  evidently,  we  must  recognise  a  positive  force 
which  bears  the  moral  powers  of  man  into  devious  paths,  and 
determines  him  to  love  sin  and  hate  holiness  and  the  Holy  One. 
And  shall  we  admit  that  the  blessed  God  is,  in  any  form,  the 
author  of  this  depravity  ?  Shall  we  for  one  moment  tolerate 
the  suggestion  that,  privative  or  positive,  he  is  its  cause?  "Let 
no  man  say,  when  he  is  tempted,  I  am  tempted  of  God ;  for  God 
cannot  be  tempted  of  evil,  neither  tempteth  he  any  man. 
But  every  man  is  tempted  when  he  is  drawn  away  of  his  own 
lust  and  enticed." — James  i.  13,  14. 

It  will  be  said,  that  Edwards  asserts  expressly, — and  truly,  if 
the  words  be  taken  in  a  certain  sense, — that  "only  God's  with- 
drawing, as  it  was  highly  proper  and  necessary  that  he  should, 
from  rebel  man,  being,  as  it  were,  driven  away  by  his  abominable 
wickedness,  and  men's  natural  principles  being  left  to  themselves, 
this  is  sufficient  to  account  for  his  becoming  intirely  corrupt, 
and  bent  on  sinning  against  God."  "  Now,  for  God  so  far  to  have 
the  disposal  of  this  affair,  as  to  withhold  those  influences  with- 
out which  nature  will  be  corrupt,  is  not  to  be  the  author  of  sin." 
True  indeed;  but  of  what  value  are  such  statements;  when  we 
find  their  author  protest,  that  by  nature  he  means  nothing  but 
the  power  of  God;  and,  by  the  course  of  nature,  "the  continued 
immediate  efficiency  of  God"  ?  In  the  very  next  paragraph, — 
with  an  inconsistency  which  we  are  not  called  upon  either  to 
explain,  or  excuse, — he  denies  that  God  can  be  released  from  the 
charge  of  being  the  author  of  sin,  on  the  ground  of  a  corrupt 
tendency  of  man's  nature, — because  "the  course  of  nature  is 
nothing  without  God."  As  we  have  already  seen,  he  in  terms 
repudiates  any  defence,  which  supposes  the  sinner  to  have  any 
power  or  efficiency  of  his  own,  apart  from  the  immediate  agency 


536  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap,  xviii. 

of  God, — any  cause  to  exist  but  God.  Such  is  the  doctrine  set 
forth  by  Edwards,  in  an  entire  chapter,  devoted  formally  to  the 
solution  of  the  difficulties  which  he  recognised  as  surrounding 
this  subject. — "Chap.  II.  (Part  IV.)  Concerning  that  objection 
against  the  doctrine  of  native  corruption,  that  to  suppose  men 
receive  their  first  existence  in  sin,  is  to  make  Him  who  is  the 
Author  of  their  being,  the  author  of  their  depravity." 

In  fact,  the  very  language  used  by  Edwards  to  state  his  doc- 
trine, is  a  contradiction  in  terms.  A  cause  is  a  force  of  some 
kind,  by  the  positive  action  of  which  the  contemplated  effect  is 
produced.  And,  therefore,  to  talk  of  a  privative  cause,  meaning 
thereby  the  absence  of  a  positive  force,  is  to  describe  that  which 
is  no  cause,  and  from  which  no  manner  of  effect  can  proceed. 
Further,  should  we  even  admit  the  validity  of  Edwards'  doc- 
trine of  a  privative  cause,  yet  upon  his  theory  of  causation,  the 
objection  of  Whitby  applies  with  overwhelming  force: — "In  the 
nature  of  the  thing,  and  in  the  opinion  of  philosophers,  causa 
deficiens,  in  rebus  necessariis,  ad  causam  ejjiciens  reducenda  est. 
In  things  necessary,  the  deficient  cause  must  be  reduced  to  the 
efficient."  If  there  be  no  force  in  the  creature,  except  the 
power  of  God, — if  nature  be  nothing  but  the  established  order 
of  his  agency, — it  matters  not  what  the  form  in  which  the  cause 
of  sin  is  stated,  whether  privative  or  positive,  it  is  at  last  but  a 
circumlocution  for  the  name  of  God.  He  is  at  best  supposed  to 
have  withheld  from  the  creature  powers  essential  to  give  its 
actions  a  holy  character;  and  at  the  same  time  to  have  com- 
municated to  him  impulses  which  of  necessity  developed  the 
opposite  result.  Thus  is  God  made  the  author  of  sin.  This 
conclusion,  which  Edwards  tries  to  evade,  is,  by  Emmons,  with 
more  courage  and  consistency,  recognised  and  vindicated,  as  the 
legitimate  consequence  flowing  from  the  premises. 

A  popular  modification  of  the  doctrine  of  Edwards,  with 
respect  to  the  propagation  of  original  sin,  comprehends  the  fol- 
§4.  Penal pri-  lowing  points: — In  consequence  of  Adam's  sin,  we 
vation  theory.  are  born  under  a  penal  privation  of  divine  influ- 
ences, and  consequent  want  of  original  righteousness,  or  tendency 
to  the  love  and  service  of  God.     These,  together  with  temporal 


sect,  in.]  Propagation  of  Original  Sin.  537 

calamities  and  death,  constitute  the  entire  penalty  of  original 
sin  imputed,  considered  in  itself.  The  consequence,  however,  of 
this  infliction  is,  that  the  soul,  which  is  necessarily  active,  being 
thus  precluded  from  activity  in  a  right  direction,  inevitably 
develops  tendencies  toward  evil;  and  thus,  as  an  effect  of  the 
penal  privation  here  described,  becomes  actually  depraved.  It 
is  not  until  this  result  has  been  realized,  that  we  are  involved  in 
the  proper  penalty  of  the  law,  the  curse  of  eternal  death. 

In  this  theory,  there  are  two  or  three  features  which  demand 
special  notice.  The  first  is,  the  nature  of  that  penal  liability 
which  is  predicated  upon  Adam's  sin  imputed: — "By  one  man 
sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin."  "We  have  seen, 
that,  in  the  argument  of  the  apostle,  the  death  thus  introduced 
is  identified  in  the  clearest  manner  with  that  death  which  is  the 
wages  of  sin,  that  death  which  Christ  came  to  take  away, —  a 
purpose  accomplished  by  him  "in  that  he  died  unto  sin  once." 
It  would  seem,  therefore,  unquestionable  that,  by  the  death  which 
entered  by  the  sin  of  Adam,  and  to  which  all  men  are  liable,  as 
the  punishment  of  that  sin,  is  meant,  the  whole  fearful  burden 
of  indignation  and  wrath  which  sin  deserves,  from  the  hand  of 
Almighty  God.  According,  however,  to  this  theory,  it  means  no 
positive  infliction  at  all,  except  such  as  are  temporal;  but  only 
the  loss  of  divine  influence  and  original  righteousness.  This 
interpretation  is  based  upon  the  fact,  that  the  word,  death,  is 
used  to  express  any  and  every  form  of  evil,  which  is  inflicted  in 
punishment  of  sin.  But  the  attempt  to  sustain  the  position  here 
stated,  on  that  ground,  is  involved  in  a  manifest  fallacy.  Sin  is, 
in  the  Scriptures,  never  regarded  as  any  thing  less  than  an  infi- 
nite evil.  Hence,  its  punishment  is  an  infinite  curse.  Finite 
evils  are,  indeed,  recognised  by  the  name  of,  death ;  but  only  as 
elements  and  pledges  of  those  which  are  infinite.  The  word  is 
never  used,  where  God's  curse  is  not  implied;  and  that  curse 
admits  of  no  limitation.  To  say,  therefore,  that  a  given  dis- 
pensation is  a  punishment  of  sin,  and  yet  attempt  to  limit  the 
burden  to  merely  privative  and  temporal  evils,  is  the  grossest  of 
contradictions.  It  is,  to  assume  that  the  law  and  justice  of  God 
can  find  something  less  than  infinite  evil  in  sin;  and  be  satisfied 


538  TJie  Elolrim  Revealed.  [chap,  xviii. 

for  it  with  something  short  of  utter  wrath.  It  is  to  suppose 
that  the  vials  of  wrath  may  be  opened,  and  their  contents  be 
poured  out  upon  the  victim;  and  yet  limit  their  woe  to  certain 
features  in  his  constitution,  and  forms  of  temporal  evil.  This 
theory  is  not  only  thus  inconsistent  with  the  doctrine  of  Paul, 
and  the  whole  teaching  of  the  Scriptures  on  the  subject  of  sin 
and  its  punishment.  It  is  involved  in  helpless  inconsistency 
with  itself.  Assuming,  as  a  fundamental  position,  that  Adam's 
sin  is  not  in  us  criminal,  but  only  liable  to  punishment, — and 
denying  it  to  involve  the  infinite  and  eternal  misery,  which  is 
the  penal  sanction  of  God's  law, — the  attempt  is  made  to  repre- 
sent it  as  being  punished  with  a  lighter  infliction  than  that  curse 
which  pursues  real  sin.  But  the  infliction  described  is  really 
far  more  fearful  and  to  be  dreaded,  than  any  amount  of  mere 
suffering.     It  defiles  the  soul,  and  alienates  it  from  God. 

The  means  by  which  this  defiling  process  is  carried  into  effect, 
we  have  stated.  The  first  step  is  the  withholding  of  divine  in- 
fluence. It  is  assumed  that  Adam  was  at  first  endowed  with  a 
divine  influence,  for  his  support  in  integrity;  and  that,  as  a 
punishment  of  his  sin,  this  influence  was  withdrawn  from  him 
and  us;  the  immediate  effect  of  which  is,  our  loss  of  original 
righteousness.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  Adam  never  had 
such  an  influence.  Its  absence  is  the  very  thing  which  is  testi- 
fied by  the  entire  Reformed  church,  when  it  asserts  our  first 
parents  to  have  been  left  to  the  freedom  of  their  own  will,  in 
their  original  estate.  They  enjoyed  God's  beneficent  care,  his 
approving  smile,  and  personal  presence  and  intercourse;  and  "all 
mankind  by  their  fall  lost  communion  with  God."  But  they  did 
not  lose  a  divine  influence,  upholding  them  in  holiness.  They 
never  had  it.  Else  they  could  never  have  fallen.  It  is,  there- 
fore, an  evident  mistake,  to  attribute  its  absence  in  us,  to  the 
penal  effects  of  their  sin. 

The  second  step,  in  the  process  of  penal  depravation,  is  the 
loss  of  original  righteousness.  This  loss  of  righteousness  is  re- 
presented as  not  only  logically  distinguishable  from  the  corrup- 
tion of  nature,  but  separable,  and  actually  separated,  from  it,  in 
its  nature,  cause  and  origin.     In  punishment  of  Adam's  first  sin, 


sect,  iv.]  Propagation  of  Original  Sin.  539 

original  righteousness,  which  consists  in  a  tendency  to  the  love 
and  service  of  God,  is  taken  away.  The  soul  is,  from  its  nature, 
necessarily  active.  The  consequence  of  its  being  deprived  of 
holy  tendencies  is,  that  its  activity  must  find  some  other  direc- 
tion. Hence,  tendencies  to  evil;  or,  actual  depravity.  Essen- 
tial, here,  is  the  idea  that  it  is  possible  to  predicate  the  loss  of 
righteousness  of  one  cause,  and  depravity  of  another.  The  loss 
of  righteousness  is  attributed  to  the  power  of  the  Creator,  in 
the  infliction  of  a  judicial  sentence.  The  corruption  or  depra- 
vity is  consequent  upon  the  activity  of  the  soul,  operating  under 
the  limitations  induced  by  the  withholding  of  righteousness. 
The  soul,  then,  may  be  conceived  of  as  divested  of  righteousness, 
without  being  yet  actually  depraved.  Thus  we  have  the  scho- 
lastic fancy,  of  original  righteousness  being  an  ornament  extrin- 
sic to  the  nature,  as  a  garland  is  to  a  maiden.  Not  only  is  it 
conceivable,  upon  this  theory,  that  the  soul  may  be  divested  of 
righteousness,  without  yet  being  actually  depraved;  but  it  is 
assumed,  that  such  is  actually  the  case,  at  a  certain  period  in 
the  history  of  every  individual.  In  the  first  instant  of  exist- 
ence, he  is  deprived  of  righteousness.  But  the  depravity  is  a 
consequence  of  this,  taken  in  connection  with  the  active  nature 
of  the  soul ;  which,  being  precluded  from  holy  tendencies,  deve- 
lops those  which  are  depraved.  Now,  prior  to  the  action  of  the 
soul,  its  activity  can  be  no  cause :  so  that  depravity  is  not  ori- 
ginal in  the  soul;  but,  at  the  most,  is  generated  by  its  first 
exercise. 

Respecting  the  loss  of  righteousness,  here  represented,  there 
are  some  questions,  the  solution  of  which  is  necessary  to  the 
clearing  of  the  doctrine.  Is  the  withholding  of  divine  influences 
supposed  to  constitute,  in  and  of  itself,  a  privation  of  righteous- 
ness ?  Or,  does  it  merely  give  opportunity  for  the  loss  of  right- 
eousness, in  some  other  way?  If  the  former  supposition  be 
adopted,  our  want  of  righteousness  is,  by  definition,  the  solo  and 
immediate  work  of  God.  It  is  impossible,  in  this  case,  that  we 
should  be,  in  any  way,  or  to  any  extent,  responsible  for  it,  or 
criminal  in  it.  If  the  other  alternative  be  adopted,  the  difficul- 
ties are  no  less  insurmountable.     It  will  then  result,  that  our 


540  The  Elolrim  Revealed.  [chap,  xviii. 

want  of  original  righteousness  does  not  run  parallel  with  our 
being.  It  results,  in  some  way,  from  agencies  subsequent  to  the 
dawn  of  existence.  We  are,  then,  at  first,  clothed  in  it.  It  will 
be  necessary,  therefore,  to  show  how  it  comes  to  pass  that,  upon 
the  withdrawal  of  divine  influence,  man  infallibly  loses  his  ori- 
ginal righteousness.  Is  it  by  virtue  of  a  necessity — natural,  or 
moral?  If  the  former,  whence  does  it  arise;  and  how  do  we 
come  to  be  criminal  in  it?  If  the  latter,  what  is  meant;  if  it 
be  not  that  the  nature  is  originally  characterized  by  a  tendency 
to  sin, — a  disposition  to  cast  off  righteousness?  But  such  a 
tendency,  is  depravity,  itself;  and,  thus,  original  in  the  soul, 
prior  to  all  activity,  is  entirely  inconsistent  with  the  theory, 
which  describes  depravity  as  generated  by  causes,  essential 
among  which  is  the  activity  of  the  soul. 

Waiving  these  difficulties,  still  others  present  themselves,  re- 
specting the  nature  and  evil  of  human  depravity.  Given, — 
man's  activity  of  moral  nature;  less, — divine  influence,  and  ten- 
dency toward  God : — Is  this  all  that  is  meant  by  the  native  de- 
pravity of  man?  Such  is  the  view  which  this  theory  presents. 
If  this  should  be  denied,  it  will  be  necessary  to  show  how  and 
when  any  other  element  is  or  can  be  introduced;  and,  particu- 
larly, how  the  moral  turpitude  enters  into  the  case. 

However  these  questions  may  be  answered,  one  thing  is  evi- 
dent:— This  scheme  ignores  the  doctrine  of  our  sin  and  fall  in 
Adam.  It  is  not  pretended  to  assign  to  our  first  parents  any 
efficient  causation  in  the  matter.  At  the  most,  their  relation  to 
it  is  constructive,  and  of  legal  intendment.  Neither  are  we  cri- 
minals in  their  sin,  nor  depraved  in  their  apostasy.  Not  only 
so,  but  the  scheme  precludes  in  us  any  moral  responsibility,  or 
criminality,  in  the  depravation  which  it  does  describe.  Pro- 
ceeding as  does  that  depravation  from  causes, — the  want  of 
righteousness,  and  the  activity  of  the  soul, — both  of  which  are 
immediately  from  God,  and  in  no  wise  from  us,  their  immediate 
and  necessary  effect  cannot  be  our  crime. 

In  fact,  the  necessary  result  of  this  theory,  in  whatever  light 
it  is  viewed,  is,  to  induce  the  denial  or  palliation  of  the  enormity 
and  wickedness  of  native  depravity.     This  results  not  only  from 


sect,  iv.]  Propagation  of  Original  Sin.  541 

the  logical  structure  of  the  theory  as  already  examined,  but  from 
the  principles  of  interpretation  which  it  renders  necessary  in  the 
exposition  of  Paul's  argument.  It  is  necessary,  either  to  abandon, 
altogether,  the  idea  of  our  sustaining  any  penal  responsibility  for 
Adam's  sin, — to  deny  our  original  depravity  to  be  in  itself  sinful 
and  deserving  God's  infinite  wrath  and  curse, — or,  to  admit 
Adam's  apostasy  to  be  truly  our  sin.  Paul  reasons  from  the 
universality  of  death  to  a  universal  condemnation  on  account 
of  violated  law.  Now,  if  the  original  principle  of  depravity, 
which  is  in  men  by  nature,  be  truly  sin,  contrary  to  the  holy 
law,  and  a  just  and  sufficient  ground  of  condemnation  and  death, 
then  evidently  it  would  be  absurd  to  attribute  universal  death 
to  a  merely  constructive  sin  which  is  not  a  crime.  Further, 
the  sin  of  which  the  apostle  speaks  is  continuous,  from  Adam's 
transgression,  to  all  after  time.  It  is  described  by  him,  not  as 
a  plurality,  but  a  unit ;  not  transient,  but  abiding ;  numerically 
one  and  the  same  which  entered  by  Adam,  and  flowed  through 
him  to  all.  Now,  to  admit  native  corruption  to  be  truly  our 
sin,  of  itself  deserving  God's  wrath  and  curse,  involves  several 
conclusions  which  are  entirely  at  variance  with  the  whole  scheme 
here  considered.  It  implies  that  it  was  our  sin  in  its  origin  in 
Adam,  as  well  as  in  its  continuance  and  activity  in  our  own 
persons.  For  it  would  evidently  be  absurd  to  suppose  that, 
which  in  Adam  was  only  our  constructive  crime,  to  be  trans- 
mitted and  become  a  principle  of  real  depravity  in  us ;  and  this 
the  more,  as  Paul,  in  both  cases,  designates  it  by  the  one  name, 
and  attributes  to  it  one  turpitude,  condemnation  and  death.  If, 
then,  native  corruption  be  truly  sin,  deserving  the  full  punish- 
ment of  sin,  it  follows  that  we  truly  sinned  in  Adam;  from 
whence,  according  to  Paul,  that  corruption  flows.  All  this, 
again,  implies  a  real  and  substantial  oneness  of  nature  in  the 
race, — such  a  unity  in  Adam  as  to  constitute  a  medium  for  the 
transfusion  to  all  of  that  one  sin  which,  in  its  origin  in  his  per- 
son, was  the  apostasy  and  depravation  of  all,  and  so  the  ground 
of  their  just  condemnation. 

How  entirely  all  this  is  inconsistent  with  the  penal  privation 
theory,  we  need  not  insist.     Denying  any  real  oneness  of  the 


542  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap,  xviii. 

race  in  Adam, — any  transfer  of  the  turpitude,  or  communion 
in  the  crime,  of  his  sin, — denying  the  numerical  oneness  of  the 
depravity  which  is  in  us  with  the  sin  which  originated  in  Adam, 
— it  is  necessary  to  deny  that  our  native  position,  as  respects 
inherent  corruption,  is  sufficient  to  justify  a  sentence  of  death 
against  all.  The  admission  of  this  would  leave  no  place  for  the 
doctrine  of  Paul,  that  the  sin  of  Adam  is  the  ground  of  the 
condemnation  and  death  which  have  passed  upon  all.  In  fact, — 
we  repeat  it, — the  alternatives  are,  to  assume  the  apostle  to  have 
reasoned  incorrectly  in  attempting  to  prove  the  condemnation 
of  all,  in  Adam,  from  the  infliction  of  death  upon  all, — to  deny 
native  indwelling  sin  to  deserve  and  involve  the  penalty  of 
eternal  death, — or,  to  recognise  the  sin  to  be  one,  in  its  entrance 
and  continuance,  in  Adam  and  us ;  and  its  criminality  one  and 
inseparable,  from  either  aspect  of  it,  attaching  as  much  to  our 
apostasy  in  Adam  as  to  our  realized  personal  depravity.  If 
Adam's  is  not  our  real  sin,  and  depravity  in  us  deserves  the 
curse  of  God,  it  is  preposterous  to  try  to  evade  the  conclusion 
that  the  death  of  all  is  the  punishment,  not  of  Adam's  trans- 
gression, but  of  indwelling  sin,  and  nothing  else. 

It  is  a  fatal  objection  to  this  theory  of  the  penal  superinducing 
of  depravity,  that  it  has  no  place  in  the  Scriptures.  The  reader 
will  search  in  vain  throughout  the  sacred  volume  for  an  intima- 
tion that,  in  any  case,  or  under  any  circumstances,  corruption  or 
sin  is  originated  where  it  did  not  before  exist  by  a  penal  dispen- 
sation, or  in  any  way  other  than  by  an  apostasy  which  is  cri- 
minal in  the  subject  of  the  depravation.  In  particular,  do  we 
never  find  the  corruption  of  the  race  of  Adam  described  as  a 
punitive  infliction ;  or,  in  fact,  in  any  way  a  penal  thing.  Always 
is  it  there  spoken  of  as  a  criminal  characteristic,  existing  in  us 
by  virtue  of  our  inbeing  and  apostasy  in  Adam. 

Further,  this  doctrine,  if  true,  renders  the  salvation  of  sinners, 
even  by  the  death  of  Christ,  forever  impossible.  According  to 
it,  an  element  of  the  punishment  of  sin,  as  inflicted  by  the  law 
and  justice  of  God,  is  the  depravation  of  the  victims, — the  origi- 
nation of  sin,  by  a  penal  process,  in  the  children  of  Adam.  Now, 
it  is  certain,  that  whatever  the  Son  of  God  endured,  he  did  not, 


sect,  iv.]  Propagation  of  Original  Sin.  543 

lie  could  not,  sin,  or  become  depraved.  He  is,  and  ever  was  and 
will  be,  the  Holy  One.  If,  then,  the  law  inflicts  such  a  penalty 
as  this,  Christ  has  not  satisfied  the  law,  and  its  unexhausted 
curse  still  remains  against  every  child  of  Adam,  and  must  for- 
ever remain. 

Inconsistent  as  is  this  theory  with  the  plan  of  grace  as  revealed 
in  the  Scriptures,  it  is  equally  at  variance  with  the  unanimous 
testimony  of  the  Reformed  confessions.  It  is  the  harmonious 
doctrine  of  the  Reformed  churches,  that  Adam  was  the  root  of 
the  human  family,  in  whom,  as  parts  of  him,  as  branches,  or 
members,  all  his  posterity  were  so  identified  that  his  sin  was, 
not  only  his  own  crime,  but  theirs  also.  "  They  sinned  in  him." 
And,  as  several  and  personal  existence  is  derived  by  them,  as 
individuals,  out  of  the  common  nature  which  sinned,  they,  accord- 
ing to  those  confessions,  receive,  by  their  natural  generation,  both 
the  guiltiness  of  this  sin,  its  turpitude,  and  the  depravity  which 
it  generated.  The  doctrine  of  these  standards  on  this  subject 
has  been  sufficiently  illustrated  in  our  introductory  chapter. 

The  theory  which  we  have  here  examined  involves  a  deficient 
estimate  of  the  diverse  points  of  light  from  which  sin  is  to  be 
1 5 .  Condu-  viewed.  The  inception,  and  the  continuance,  of 
sion-  apostasy,  or  sin,  although  logically  distinguishable, 

are  yet  but  aspects  of  one  and  the  same  thing, — so  absolutely 
inseparable,  that  it  is  impossible  either  should  exist,  or  be  con- 
ceived to  exist,  without  the  other.  Again,  viewed  as  a  real  prin- 
ciple existent  in  the  soul,  and  as  an  active  influence  operating 
in  the  life,  sin  still  is  but  the  same  thing,  seen  in  different  lights. 
Originated  by  the  apostasy  of  Adam,  and  continuous  in  him  and 
his  seed, — quiescent,  though  too  truly  existent,  in  infants,  and 
active  in  adults,  in  the  generation  of  actual  transgressions, — its 
identity  is  unbroken,  as  it  flows  from  Adam  to  the  latest  of  his 
sons.  Its  criminality  is  one  and  infinite,  and  its  penalty  one, — 
the  infinite  wrath  and  curse  of  God.  In  the  argument  of  Paul 
to  the  Romans,  it  is  presented  in  all  these  lights,  in  turn.  In 
the  twelfth  verse  of  the  fifth  chapter  we  have  its  origin, — not 
that  of  Adam's  personal  apostasy,  but  of  whatever  in  us  may  be 
bo  designated.     Not  only  Adam,  but  "all  sinned,"  and  aposta- 


544  The  Eloltim  Revealed,  [chap,  xviii. 

tized  from  God, — not  in  act  only,  but  in  the  attitude  of  the  na- 
ture, in  the  inmost  powers  of  the  soul.  In  the  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth  verses  it  is  exhibited  as  existent  in  the  generations 
who  flowed  from  Adam,  the  apostate  head, — innate  but  latent 
in  infants,  and  active  and  revealed  as  sin  in  adults,  and  in  all 
condemned  by  justice  and  accursed  by  God.  In  the  twentieth 
and  twenty- first  verses,  and  throughout  the  sixth  and  seventh 
chapters,  it  is  viewed  as  an  active  principle,  working  transgres- 
sion. In  all,  it  is  one  enormous  sin, — "the  sin  of  the  world," — 
deserving,  and,  but  for  the  redeeming  grace  of  Christ,  receiving, 
the  infinite  curse  of  God.  This  curse  is  just  as  fully  incurred, 
and,  but  for  grace,  as  infallibly  inflicted,  where  sin  has  never 
grown  to  active  transgression,  as,  where  the  vine  of  Sodom  has 
fully  proved  its  identity  by  the  abundant  clusters  of  Gomorrah 
which  weigh  down  its  branches. 

How  strangely  contrasted  with  this  is  the  theory  before  us ! 
Its  first  feature  is  a  sin,  which  is  no  crime,  but  a  mere  condition 
of  being  regarded  and  treated  as  sinners, — a  regarding  which 
does  not  mean  that  they  are  in  fact  looked  upon  and  regarded 
by  God  as  real  sinners,  and  a  treatment  which  does  not  consist 
in  visiting  them  with  the  proper  penalty  of  real  sin ;  but  some- 
thing altogether  different.  Its  second  characteristic  is  a  guilt 
which  is  devoid  of  sinfulness, — which  does  not  imply  moral  de- 
merit or  turpitude.  Then  follows  a  punishment,  which  consists 
not  in  the  penalty  of  the  law,  nor  necessarily  in  the  active  inflic- 
tion of  any  thing,  but  merely  the  withholding  of  an  influence 
for  man's  retention  in  uprightness, — an  influence  which  Adam 
never  enjoyed,  when  in  the  highest  favour  with  God, — the  with- 
holding of  which  leaves  man  no  alternative ;  but,  if  active  at  all, 
— and  such  he  must  be,  for  such  God  has  made  him, — he  must 
be  active  in  sin !  Only  when  sin  has  thus  been  wrought,  does 
this  theory  recognise  a  turpitude,  which  is  real  crime,  in  such 
sense  as  to  deserve  the  full  meed  of  God's  wrath  and  curse. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   ETERNAL   COVENANT. 

Bound  every  heart ;  and  every  bosom,  burn  ! 
0  what  a  scale  of  miracles  is  here  ! 
Its  lowest  round  high  planted  on  the  skies, 
Its  towering  summit  lost  beyond  the  thought 
Of  man  or  angel. — Young. 

Thus  have  we  traced  the  dark  features  of  man's  wicked 
apostasy  from  holiness  and  God.  In  his  creation,  crowned  with 
3  l.  The  cwse  a  $0TY>  honour  and  dignity  which  constituted  him 
on  man  is  a  becoming  image  of  the  Creator,  in  presence  of 
stayed.  God's  universe ;  enthroned  in  dominion  over  earth 

and  every  living  thing;  endowed  with  every  requisite  to  the 
highest  and  perfect  happiness  here,  and  with  the  promise  of 
infinite  blessedness,  in  eternal  life,  on  condition  of  obedience; 
he  yet  contemned  the  present  favours  of  a  beneficent  God,  and 
rejected  his  covenant  of  peace.  He  turned  his  back  upon 
that  throne  of  radiant  light  whence  shone  upon  him  unmixed 
goodness  and  love;  before  which  the  seraphim  of  glory,  in 
veiled  prostration,  rejoice  to  adore,  He  plucked  the  forbidden 
fruit,  violated  the  seal  of  God's  loving  and  rightful  sovereignty, 
and  set  his  hand  to  the  covenant  of  Jehovah's  curse.  His 
nature  and  his  race  he  thus  plunged  in  a  guilt  and  ruin,  alike 
fearful  in  extent  and  enormity  of  moral  evil  and  crime  and 
dark  in  the  shadows  of  a  hopeless  misery  and  despair.  Death 
entered  the  world,  and  passed  to  all  men.  The  curse  swooped 
down  to  claim  and  seize  its  rightful  victims.  The  law  and 
justice  of  God  concurred  to  denounce  an  infinite  woe  against 
the  impious,  whose  puny  arms  had  lifted  up  defiance  against  the 
power  of  God,  and  whose  hearts  returned  contempt  and  hate  to 
his  goodness  and  holiness.  Confident  in  the  success  of  his 
malignant  arts  against  our  race,  Satan  exulted  in  the  imagined 

35  545 


546  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xix. 

disappointment  of  God's  designs  of  love  to  man.  Secure  of  its 
victims,  hell  from  beneath  was  moved  to  meet  them  at  their 
coming ;  and  the  fallen  angels,  for  whom  it  was  ordained,  ex- 
pected new  companions  in  the  woe  of  their  undying  anguish  and 
deepening  despair.  All  heaven  stood  in  silent  awe  and  expecta- 
tion. The  adoring  throng  of  blessed  spirits  looked  to  see  an 
indignation  and  vengeance  revealed  which  should  be  adequate 
satisfaction  for  such  sin. 

Yet  no  clouds  of  darkness  gathered  about  the  throne.  No 
wrathful  thunders  uttered  their  curses,  nor  lightnings  of  venge- 
ance flamed  against  the  guilty.  But  the  light  of  God's  infinite 
compassion  and  eternal  love  illumed  the  world,  and  salvation 
from  sin  and  the  curse  was  provided  for  man  by  the  wisdom  and 
goodness  of  his  insulted  God.  The  hour  of  man's  utmost  need, 
when  trembling  he  fled  from  the  presence  of  his  Maker,  was  the 
chosen  time  of  God's  revelation  of  grace.  He,  who  expected 
nothing  but  wrath,  is  greeted  with  assurances  of  love,  and  hears 
the  promise  of  redemption  from  ruin,  and  restoration  to  a 
higher  dignity  and  richer  privilege  and  favour  than  that  so 
wickedly  lost.  The  penal  requirements  of  the  law  shall  be 
obeyed.  Justice  shall  be  fully  enforced.  The  curse  shall  be 
satisfied.  God's  holiness,  which  abhors  sin,  and  his  righteous- 
ness, which  punishes  it,  shall  be  maintained.  Every  attribute 
of  God's  nature  shall  be  revealed  in  untarnished  radiance  and 
infinite  growing  glory.  But  lost  and  hell-deserving  man  shall 
be  saved.  God  shall  be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  the  ungodly. 
Mercy  and  truth  shall  meet  together ;  righteousness  and  peace 
shall  kiss  each  other.  Truth  shall  spring  out  of  the  earth ;  and 
righteousness  shall  look  down  from  heaven.  The  woman's 
seed  shall  bruise  the  head  of  the  serpent,  and  the  Son  of 
man  thwart  all  the  wiles  of  Satan.  A  Captain  of  salvation 
shall  arise,  whose  conquering  arms  shall  recover  our  revolted 
world  to  the  allegiance  of  God;  and  cause  the  schemes  of  the 
enemy  to  recoil  upon  his  own  head,  in  a  storm  of  devouring 
indignation.  By  the  arm  of  the  second  Adam  shall  the  de- 
stroyer of  the  first  be  overthrown  in  utter  discomfiture  and 
eternal  shame.     He  who  made  man  as  the  crown  of  the  crea- 


sect,  i.]  The  Eternal  Covenant.  547 

tion  and  image  of  himself,  is  not  taken  by  surprise,  nor  disap- 
pointed in  his  purposes  of  kindness  to  our  race,  by  the  successful 
treachery  of  Satan.  On  the  contrary,  man's  ruin  is  the  very 
occasion  awaited  by  Omniscience,  for  unfolding  to  his  creatures 
the  mystery  of  his  boundless  wisdom,  and  the  riches  of  his  grace. 

"  The  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit — God 
Devised  the  wondrous  plan; — devised,  achieved  ; 
And,  in  achieving,  made  the  mai'vel  more. 

God  was  made  flesh, 

And  dwelt  with  man  on  earth  !     The  Son  of  God, 

Only-begotten,  and  well  beloved,  between 

Men  and  his  Father's  justice  interposed ; 

Put  human  nature  on :  His  wrath  sustained  ; 

And  in  their  name  suffered,  obeyed  and  died, 

Making  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin  ; 

Just  for  unjust,  and  innocence  for  guilt." — Pollok. 

All  of  which  we  have  heretofore  spoken, — the  creation  of 
man  in  the  image  of  God, — his  endowment  with  glory,  dominion 
and  blessedness, — the  law  which  was  laid  upon  him,  and  the 
covenant  which  was  given  him,  the  permission  of  the  tempta- 
tion and  of  the  fall  and  ruin  of  the  race, — all  were  but  so  many 
steps  toward  the  accomplishment  of  a  scheme  of  infinite  wisdom 
and  love,  borne  forward  by  the  energies  of  infinite  power,  for 
the  revelation  of  the  glorious  attributes  of  the  Author.  But 
this  wonderful  scheme  was  not  merely  a  plan  devised  by  the 
divine  wisdom,  and  accomplished  by  the  divine  will  and  power. 
Its  elements  were  the  provisions  of  an  eternal  covenant,  which 
was  ineffably  made,  between  the  persons  of  the  Godhead.  Of 
that  covenant,  the  Father  was  the  author.  The  parties  to  the 
contract  were  the  Father  and  the  Son ;  and  the  Spirit  was  wit- 
ness. Its  seal  was  the  tremendous  oath  of  Jehovah ;  its  date, 
God's  own  eternity,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world ;  and  its 
terms  comprehended  the  whole  order  of  providence  concerning 
all  the  creatures.  All  of  these  were  made  by  and  for  Him  who 
is,  by  the  covenant,  enthroned  Head  over  all.  But  the  especial 
object  of  the  whole  transaction  was  the  provision  of  salvation 
for  fallen  man ;  and,  by  this  means,  the  revelation,  to  all  crea- 


548  The  EloJiim  Revealed.  [chap.  xix. 

tures,  of  the  riches  of  God's  infinite  wisdom,  power,  holiness, 
justice,  and  glorious  grace. 

The  first  announcement  of  this  covenant  was  addressed  to  the 
serpent,  but  in  the  hearing  and  for  the  comfort  of  the  apostate 
$2.  History  of  and  convicted  parents  of  our  race.  "The  Lord  God 
the  promise.  sa^  unt0  fae  serpent,  Because  thou  hast  done  this, 
thou  art  cursed  above  all  cattle,  and  above  every  beast  of  the  field : 
upon  thy  belly  shalt  thou  go,  and  dust  shalt  thou  eat  all  the 
days  of  thy  life:  and  I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and  the 
woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  Seed ;  It  shall  bruise  thy 
head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  His  heel." — Gen.  iii.  14,  15.  Thus, 
the  curse  glanced  upon  the  serpent,  the  instrument  of  the  seduc- 
tion, and  fell  with  gathering  fearfulness  upon  the  head  of  Satan, 
its  author.  To  arrest  his  impious  and  malignant  exultation,  he 
is  assured  that  not  only  is  he  henceforth  doubly  accursed,  but 
his  plots  against  man  and  God  will  all  be  turned  to  utter  con- 
tempt ; — that  the  Seed  of  the  very  woman,  over  whom  he  ima- 
gined so  easy  a  triumph,  shall  amply  avenge  her  wrong,  and,  if 
with  bruised  heel,  yet  with  triumphant  might,  crush  the  head 
of  her  enemy,  and  redeem  her  from  the  ruin  which  he  had  de- 
vised. 

If  the  announcement  of  the  coming  Seed  was  confusion  to  the 
seducer,  it  was  the  dayspring  from  on  high  to  the  fallen  pair. 
It  assured  them  not  simply  of  respite  from  the  curse,  but  of  tri- 
umph over  it.  It  proclaimed  life  to  the  dead ;  and,  in  token  of 
the  faith  which  laid  hold  of  the  precious  promise,  Adam  called 
his  wife  Eve, — that  is,  Life, — "because  she  was  the  mother  of 
all  living," — Gen.  iii.  20;  as  being  the  mother,  both,  of  that  pro- 
mised Son,  to  whom  it  was  given  to  have  life  in  himself,  who 
hath  aholished  death;  and  also,  of  those  to  whom  he  shall  give 
eternal  life.  In  confirmation  of  this  faith,  and  pledge  of  its 
acceptance,  Adam  was  taught  to  offer  sacrifices  of  blood ;  and, 
as  the  sacrificial  animals  expired,  and  the  smoke  of  their  burn- 
ing rose  from  off  the  altar,  and  God's  own  hand  clothed  the  re- 
pentant worshippers  with  the  skins  of  the  sacrifices,  they,  in  a 
figure,  saw  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world, — 
a  vicarious  atonement  for  their  sins,  and  his  righteousness  an 


sect,  i.]  The  Eternal  Covenant,  549 

abundant  covering  for  their  nakedness.  We  have  in  another 
place  alluded  to  the  language  of  Eve  upon  occasion  of  the  birth 
of  Qain, — language  which  seems  plainly  to  have  reference  to  that 
"second  man,  the  Lord  from  heaven,"  by  whom  the  serpent  was 
to  be  destroyed: — "I  have  gotten  the  man,  Jehovah." — Gen. 
iv.  1.  The  fact  that  Cain  was  not  the  Messiah,  is  not  in  the 
least  inconsistent  with  the  supposition  that  such  was  the  imagi- 
nation of  Eve ;  and  the  care  used  by  the  Spirit  of  God  to  recover 
and  put  upon  record,  by  the  hand  of  Moses,  this  expression  of 
Eve,  in  the  brief  narrative  which  sketches  the  history  of  seven- 
teen hundred  years  in  two  short  chapters,  seems  entirely  incon- 
sistent with  the  idea  that  it  meant  no  more  than  to  recognise 
the  fact  that  "children  are  an  heritage  of  the  Lord." 

As  the  plan  of  God,  so  the  revelation  of  it  is  carried  on  in  a 
process  of  gradual  development.  The  promise  made  in  the  gar- 
den, and  the  light  shed  upon  it  by  the  sacrificial  symbol,  consti- 
tuted the  sum  of  the  gospel,  as  preached  by  Enoch  and  Noah, 
and  believed  by  the  people  of  God,  during  the  twenty  centuries 
which  intervened  from  the  fall  to  the  calling  of  Abraham.  To 
him  God  had  said,  "  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country,  and  from  thy 
kindred,  and  from  thy  father's  house,  unto  a  land  that  I  will 
show  thee.  And  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation,  and  I  will 
bless  thee,  and  make  thy  name  great;  and  thou  shalt  be  a  bless- 
ing :  and  I  will  bless  them  that  bless  thee,  and  curse  him  that 
curseth  thee:  and  in  thee  shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be 
blessed." — Gen.  xii.  1-3.  Afterward,  the  promises  thus  made 
were  confirmed  to  the  patriarch  in  a  solemn  covenant,  sealed  by 
a  new  name  and  the  rite  of  circumcision: — "When  Abram  was 
ninety  years  old  and  nine,  the  Lord  appeared  to  Abram,  and  said 
unto  him,  I  am  the  Almighty  God :  walk  before  me,  and  be  thou 
perfect.  And  I  will  make  my  covenant  between  me  and  thee, 
and  will  multiply  thee  exceedingly.  And  Abram  fell  on  his 
face :  and  God  talked  with  him,  saying,  As  for  me,  behold,  my 
covenant  is  with  thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  a  father  of  many  na- 
tions. Neither  shall  thy  name  any  more  be  called  Abram,  but 
thy  name  shall  be  Abraham,  (father  of  a  multitude,)  for  a  father 
of  many  nations  have  I  made  thee.    And  I  will  make  thee  exceed- 


550  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xix. 

ing  fruitful,  and  I  will  make  nations  of  thee,  and  kings  shall 
come  out  of  thee.  And  I  will  establish  my  covenant  between 
me  and  thee,  and  thy  seed  after  thee,  in  their  generations,  for 
an  everlasting  covenant,  to  be  a  God  unto  thee  and  to  thy  seed 
after  thee.  And  I  will  give  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed  after 
thee,  the  land  wherein  thou  art  a  stranger,  all  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, for  an  everlasting  possession ;  and  I  will  be  their  God. 
And  God  said  unto  Abraham,  Thou  shalt  keep  my  covenant, 
therefore,  thou  and  thy  seed  after  thee,  in  their  generations. 
This  is  my  covenant,  which  ye  shall  keep  between  me  and  you, 
and  thy  seed  after  thee :  Every  man-child  among  you  shall  be 
circumcised." — Gen.  xvii.  1-10. 

Thus  was  the  gospel  preached  to  Abraham  by  God  himself; 
and  the  promise  upon  which  faith  had  previously  rested  was 
confirmed  and  established  by  a  solemn  covenant,  ratified  and 
sealed.  Nor  did  the  condescending  kindness  and  love  of  God 
pause  here.  Having  made  experiment  of  the  faith  of  Abraham, 
by  the  requirement  that  he  should  sacrifice  his  son,  and  having 
enabled  the  patriarch  to  come  forth  from  the  fiery  trial  un- 
scathed, God  adds  his  oath  to  establish  the  abundant  grace  of 
the  covenant : — "  And  the  Angel  of  the  Lord  called  unto  Abra- 
ham out  of  heaven,  and  said,  By  myself  have  I  sworn,  saith  the 
Lord,  for  because  thou  hast  done  this  thing,  and  hast  not  with- 
held thy  son,  thine  only  son :  that  in  blessing  I  will  bless  thee, 
and  in  multiplying  I  will  multiply  thy  seed  as  the  stars  of  the 
heaven,  and  as  the  sand  which  is  upon  the  sea-shore ;  and  thy 
seed  shall  possess  the  gate  of  his  enemies ;  and  in  thy  seed  shall 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed,  because  thou  hast  obeyed 
my  voice." — Gen.  xxii.  15-18. 

Thus,  "  God,  willing  more  abundantly  to  show  unto  the  heirs 
of  promise  the  immutability  of  his  counsel,  confirmed  it  by  an 
oath ;  that  by  two  immutable  things,  in  which  it  was  impossible 
for  God  to  lie,  we  might  have  a  strong  consolation,  who  have 
fled  for  refuge  to  lay  hold  upon  the  hope  set  before  us." — Heb. 
vi.  17,  18.  How  fully  Abraham  was  informed,  as  to  the  whole 
extent  and  significance  of  this  transaction,  we  have  no  means  of 
knowing.     Our  Saviour  assures  the  Jews,  "  Your  father  Abra- 


sect,  ii.]  The  Eternal  Covenant.  551 

ham  rejoiced  to  see  my  day:  and  lie  saw  it,  and  was  glad." — John 
viii.  56.  In  fact,  the  covenant  with  Abraham  was  a  literal  tran- 
script from  that  between  the  Father  and  Son ;  and  it  is  only  by 
viewing  it  in  this  light,  that  we  can  form  any  just  conceptions 
respecting  it.  Of  this  fact  the  evidence  is  conclusive.  Thus, 
Paul  declares  that,  "to  Abraham  and  his  Seed  were  the  pro- 
mises made.  He  saith  not,  And  to  seeds,  as  of  many ;  but  as  of 
one,  And  to  thy  Seed,  which  is  Christ.  . .  .  Wherefore  then  serveth 
the  law?  It  was  added  because  of  transgressions,  till  the  Seed 
should  come  to  whom  the  promise  was  made." — Gal.  iii.  16,  19. 
Thus  is  it  evident  that  the  Abrahamic  covenant  was  entered  into 
with  the  Seed,  Christ,  rather  than  with  Abraham  himself.  To 
the  Seed  the  promise  was  made. 

The  next  signal  step  in  the  revelation  of  the  covenant,  is  re- 
corded in  the  seventh  chapter  of  2  Samuel,  and  the  seventeenth 
§  3.  The  co-  of  1  Chronicles.  David,  having  finished  his  wars, 
venam  with  an(j  being  at  rest  from  all  enemies,  proposed  to  build 
a  temple  to  God.  Upon  this  occasion,  the  prophet 
Nathan  was  sent,  to  forbid  the  enterprise, — to  tell  him  that  he 
did  well  that  it  was  in  his  heart,  (1  Kings  viii.  18 ;)  yet  not  he, 
but  his  son,  should  build  it.  "  When  thy  days  be  fulfilled,  and 
thou  shalt  sleep  with  thy  fathers,  I  will  set  up  thy  seed  after 
thee,  which  shall  proceed  out  of  thy  bowels,  and  I  will  establish 
his  kingdom.  He  shall  build  an  house  for  my  name,  and  I  will 
stablish  the  throne  of  his  kingdom  forever.  .  .  .  And  thine  house 
and  thy  kingdom  shall  be  established  forever  before  thee :  thy 
throne  shall  be  established  forever." — 2  Sam.  vii.  12-16.  That 
this  promise  had  an  immediate  respect  to  Solomon,  and  the 
temple  builded  at  Jerusalem  by  him,  is  no  doubt  true.  But, 
that  "a  greater  than  Solomon  is  here,"  is  certain.  And,  that 
David  so  understood  the  matter,  is  equally  clear.  Upon  receiv- 
ing the  communication,  he  went  in  and  sat  before  the  Lord, 
"and  he  said,  Who  am  I,  0  Lord  God?  and  what  is  my  house, 
that  thou  hast  brought  me  hitherto  ?  And  this  was  yet  a  small 
thing  in  thy  sight,  0  Lord  God;  but  thou  hast  spoken  also  of 
thy  servant's  house  for  a  great  while  to  come.  And  is  this  the 
manner  of  man,  0  Lord  God?" — 2  Sam.  vii.  18,  19.     Dr.  Kenni- 


552  The  Elohim  Revealed,  [chap.  xix. 

cott  remarks  of  this  address,  that  it  is  "just  such  as  one  might 
naturally  expect,  from  a  person  overwhelmed  with  the  greatness 
of  the  promised  blessing.  It  is  abrupt,,  full  of  wonder,  and 
fraught  with  repetitions."  The  words  rendered,  "And  is  this 
the  manner  of  man,  0  Lord  God,"  are  not,  according  to  the  same 
learned  author,  sufficiently,  or  even  accurately,  translated.  Their 
meaning,  as  he  expresses  it,  is:  "And  this  is  (or,  must  be)  the 
manner  of  the  Man  (or,  of  the  Adam)."  Bishop  Horsley 
adopts  the  leading  idea  of  Dr.  Kennicott,  but  departs  a  little 
from  his  translation.  He  renders  the  passage  thus: — "And  this' 
is  the  arrangement  about  the  Man,  0  Lord  Jehovah!'"  The 
words,  he  says,  are  exactly  parallel  with  1  Chron.  xvii.  17,  which 
he  translates  thus : — "And  thou  hast  regarded  me  in  the  arrange- 
ment about  the  Man  that  is  to  be  from  above,  0  Lord  Jehovah." 
Sebastian  Schmidt  translates  the  words  in  the  latter  place,  "et 
respexisti  me  juxta  rationem  hominis  illius  celsissimi."  This, 
however,  seems  not  to  give  accurately  the  sense  of  nSpsn  which, 
as  stated  by  Dr.  Kennicott,  signifies,  subsequence,  as  to  time, 
and,  from  above,  as  to  place.*  Both  of  these  ideas  are  combined 
by  Paul,  in  1  Cor.  xv.  47: — "The  first  man  is  of  the  earth, 
earthy ;  the  second  man  is  the  Lord  from  heaven."  Similar  is 
the  idea  of  John  the  Baptist: — "He  that  cometh  from  above 
is  above  all :  he  that  is  of  the  earth  is  earthly  and  speaketh  of 
the  earth:  he  that  cometh  from  heaven  is  above  all." — John  iii. 
31.  Luther  translates  2  Sam.  vii.  19, — "And  this  is  the  way  of 
a  man  who  is  God  the  Lord."  That  "the  Adam,"  of  whom 
David  in  these  places  speaks,  is  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  is  mani- 
fest; and  that  upon  this  occasion  the  Spirit  of  inspiration  im- 
parted to  David  a  knowledge  of  the  manner  of  the  second  Adam, 
of  the  covenant  by  which  he  was  ordained  to  take  the  place  of 
the  first,  and  of  the  glory  and  dominion  with  which  he  was  to 
be  crowned,  is  evident,  from  the  tenor  of  the  Messianic  Psalms, 
in  which  the  theme  is  celebrated. f  In  fact,  the  testimony  of 
Peter,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  is,  of  itself,  conclusive  on  this 
point.     Citing  the  language  of  David  in  the  sixteenth  Psalm, — 

*  See  Theological  and  Literary  Journal,  1858,  p.  209. 

■j-  Consult  Psalms  ii,  viii,  xvi,  xxi,  xxii,  xl,  xlv,  lxix,  lxxii,  lxxxix,  ex. 


sect,  in.]  The  Eternal  Covenant.  553 

"  Thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell,  neither  wilt  thou  suffer 
thine  Holy  One  to  see  corruption," — he  tells  the  multitude,  that 
this  cannot  be  meant  of  David  himself;  since  "he  is  both  dead 
and  buried,  and  his  sepulchre  is  with  us  unto  this  day.  There- 
fore being  a  prophet,  and  knowing  that  God  had  sworn  with  an 
oath  to  him,  that  of  the  fruit  of  his  loins,  according  to  the  flesh, 
he  would  raise  up  Christ  to  sit  on  his  throne;  he,  seeing  this 
before,  spake  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  that  his  soul  was  not 
left  in  hell,  neither  his  flesh  did  see  corruption." — Acts  ii.  27-31. 
From  the  time  of  this  promise  to  David,  the  doctrine  of  the 
eternal  covenant  has  ever  constituted  a  fundamental  article  in 
$  4.  The  eter-  the  faith  of  the  church;  and  the  salvation,  kingdom 
nai  covenant.  an(j  glory  therein  secured,  has  been  the  great  end 
of  all  her  labours,  and  consummation  of  her  hopes.  It  is  the 
key-note  to  the  loftiest  strains  which  are  found  in  the  book  of 
the  Psalms;  and  the  theme  in  respect  to  which  the  prophets 
"inquired  and  searched  diligently,  .  .  .  searching  what,  or  what 
manner  of  time,  the  Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in  them  did  sig- 
nify, when  it  testified  beforehand  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and 
the  glory  that  should  follow." — 1  Peter  i.  10,  11.  Whatever 
shadows,  however,  rested  on  their  minds,  and  whatever  mysteries 
remained  hidden  from  their  understandings,  the  whole  subject 
now  stands  revealed  to  us,  in  the  clearer  light  of  fulfilment,  and 
of  the  inspired  interpretations  which  the  New  Testament  fur- 
nishes to  the  revelations  of  the  Old.  We  are  thus  permitted  to 
contemplate  a  scene,  in  beholding  which,  we  are  called  to  put 
off  our  shoes,  in  adoring  reverence  and  awe.  The  place  where 
we  stand  is  holy.  It  is  the  presence-chamber  of  God,  the  council- 
room  of  the  blessed  Three.  Satan  has  rebelled  against  the 
sovereignty,  and  defied  the  power,  of  the  omnipotent  One. 
Especially  has  his  impious  treason  arrayed  itself  against  that 
eternal  Son,  by  whom  are  all  things,  and  for  whom  are  all  things, 
who  is  the  Mediator,  by  whom  alone  has  God  ever  revealed  him- 
self to  creature.  Man,  in  mad  impiety,  has  joined  in  the  trea- 
son. The  nations  rage,  and  the  peoples  imagine  a  vain  thing. 
The  kings  take  their  stand,  and  the  princes  consult  together, 
against  Jehovah  and  his  Anointed.     "Let  us  break  their  bands 


554  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xix. 

in  sunder,"  say  they,  "and  cast  away  their  cords  from  us.'' 
Proud  boast,  but  imbecile!  He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens 
laughs.  The  Lord  has  them  in  derision.  Whilst  his  enemies 
are  conspiring,  the  decree  goes  forth,  "Yet  have  I  set  my  King 
upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion." — Psalm  ii.  6.  "And  to  the  Son  he 
saith,  Thy  throne,  0  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever :  a  sceptre  of  right- 
eousness is  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom.  Thou  hast  loved  right- 
eousness and  hated  iniquity ;  therefore  God,  even  thy  God,  hath 
anointed  thee  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fellows." — Heb. 
i.  8,  9.  "Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand,  until  I  make  thine  enemies 
thy  footstool.  The  Lord  shall  send  the  rod  of  thy  strength  out 
of  Zion :  rule  thou  in  the  midst  of  thine  enemies.  Thy  people 
shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power,  in  the  beauties  of  holi- 
ness from  the  womb  of  the  morning :  thou  hast  the  dew  of  thy 
youth.  The  Lord  hath  sworn,  and  will  not  repent,  Thou  art  a 
priest  forever  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek." — Psalm  ex.  1-4. 
The  response  of  the  Son  is  given  in  the  fortieth  Psalm: — "Lo,  I 
come :  in  the  volume  of  the  book  it  is  written  of  me,  I  delight 
to  do  thy  will,  0  my  God:  yea,  thy  law  is  within  my  heart." — 
Psalm  xl.  7,  8. 

From  the  exposition  given  in  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  we 
learn  that  the  oath,  by  which  Christ  was  ordained  a  priest  after 
the  order  of  Melchizedek,  comprehends  in  its  terms  the  whole 
sum  of  the  covenant  of  grace.  We  will  take  it,  therefore,  as  our 
centre  of  observation  in  tracing  some  of  the  particulars  of  that 
transaction.  Of  the  importance  of  the  doctrine  of  the  covenant 
here .  announced,  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  speak  in  terms  of  ex- 
aggeration. In  the  fact  of  the  formation  of  such  a  compact, — 
in  the  parties  between  whom  it  was  made,  the  provisions  therein 
contained,  the  oath  by  which  it  is  confirmed,  and  the  Witness 
by  whom  attested, — in  the  revelation  of  it  to  man,  and  in  its  exe- 
cution, as  a  scheme  of  grace  to  man  and  glory  to  God, — the  Per- 
sons of  the  Godhead  are  revealed,  in  the  unity  of  their  essence, 
the  severalty  of  their  subsistence,  the  peculiarity  of  their  several 
mode  of  agency,  and  the  relations  subsisting  between  them,  with 
an  evidence  and  clearness  no  otherwise  attainable.  On  this 
Bubject,  the  following  are  some  of  the  most  important  points, 


sect,  iv.]  The  Eternal  Covenant.  555 

which  will  be  illustrated  in  the  unfolding  and  fulfilment  of  the 
covenant. 

1.  As  the  fact  of  the  forming  of  such  a  covenant  attests  the 
existence  of  distinct  and  peculiar  relations  between  a  plurality 
of  subsistences  in  the  divine  nature,  so,  the  announcement  of  such 
a  covenant  is  designed  to  call  our  attention  to  those  relations. 

2.  The  relations  thus  made  known  to  us  are  of  two  kinds, 
— natural  and  moral.  Of  the  natural  relations,  consistino;  in 
the  subsistence  of  the  three  Persons  in  one  God,  and  the  mode 
of  that  subsistence,  as  expressed  in  terms  of  generation  and 
spiration,  we  have  already  spoken  particularly. 

3.  The  moral  relations  of  the  Persons  of  the  Godhead  to  each 
other  are  held  up,  in  the  covenant,  in  a  very  signal  light.  In 
it,  the  eternal  Father  is  revealed  in  the  act  of  binding  himself 
to  his  co-equal  Son  by  a  solemn  oath,  by  which  he  appeals  to  his 
own  infinite  holiness  in  assurance  of  his  truth: — "Once  have  I 
sworn  by  my  holiness,  that  I  will  not  lie  unto  David."  In  it, 
the  Son  pledges  his  righteousness  to  the  fulfilment  of  terms  upon 
which  the  destinies  of  heaven,  earth  and  hell  are  suspended.  In 
it,  the  Spirit  stands  co-party  and  witness,  "  because  the  Spirit  is 
truth."  In  it,  each  Person  is  revealed  concurring,  in  infinite 
harmony,  mutual  confidence  and  love,  to  the  completion  of  a 
scheme  of  matchless  wisdom  and  goodness,  for  the  display  of  their 
essential  and  unsearchable  perfections;  which,  toward  man,  as- 
sume the  guise  of  grace,  mercy  and  peace,  righteousness  and  truth. 

4.  The  attributes,  for  the  revelation  of  which  such  provision 
is  made,  are  those  which,  as  we  have  formerly  seen,  constitute 
the  standard  of  moral  excellence  in  the  creatures.  Conformity 
with  them  is  the  principle  of  all  moral  obligation  and  duty,  to 
angels  and  men.  As  such,  they  are  made  known  through  the 
covenant ;  and,  as  such,  set  forth  in  the  law ;  a  fact  which,  in  a 
very  emphatic  manner,  proclaims  them  to  us  as  the  subject  of 
God's  infinite  complacence,  and  matter  of  his  highest  glory. 
Thus  are  they  commended  to  us  as  the  theme  of  our  most  assidu- 
ous study  and  exalted  praise. 

The  Author  of  this  scheme  is  God  the  Father.  u  The  Lord 
hath  sworn."     So,  in  the  second  Psalm,  v.  7: — "Thou  art  my 


556  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  xix. 

Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee.  Ask  of  me."  This  corre- 
1 5.  The  par-  sponds  with  all  the  testimonies  of  the  Scriptures  on 
ties  and  terms,  the  subject.  So  it  is  in  all  the  Messianic  Psalms. 
So  it  is  everywhere  testified  in  the  New  Testament.  Jesus  tells 
Nicodemus  that  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish, 
but  have  everlasting  life." — John  iii.  16.  Again,  in  John  vi.  38 
he  says,  "  I  came  down  from  heaven,  not  to  do  mine  own  will, 
but  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me ;"  and,  when  he  had  accom- 
plished his  mission,  he  says  to  the  Father,  "  I  have  finished  the 
work  which  thou  gavest  me  to  do." — John  xvii.  4.  John  writes, 
"  We  have  seen,  and  do  testify,  that  the  Father  sent  the  Son  to 
be  the  Saviour  of  the  world." — 1  John  iv.  14.  We  might  mul- 
tiply testimonies  to  this  point,  were  it  necessary.  That  it  is  of 
importance,  Paul  assures  us.  Speaking  of  Christ's  priesthood, 
he  says,  "  No  man  taketh  this  honour  unto  himself,  but  he  that 
is  called  of  God,  as  was  Aaron.  So,  also,  Christ  glorified  not 
himself  to  be  made  an  high  priest ;  but  he  that  said  unto  him, 
Thou  art  my  Son,  to-day  have  I  begotten  thee.  As  he  saith 
also  in  another  place,  Thou  art  a  priest  forever  after  the  order 
of  Melchizedek." — Heb.  v.  4-6.  Thus,  the  work  of  Christ,  in 
all  its  parts  and  relations,  originated  with  the  Father.  It  con- 
stitutes a  manifestation  of  the  boundless  love  and  compassion, 
the  condescending  grace,  the  infinite  wisdom,  and  the  holiness, 
justice  and  truth,  of  the  Father.  He  that  hath  seen  the  Son, 
hath  seen  the  Father. 

It  is  to  the  Son,  as  divine,  as  the  second  Person  of  the  Trinity, 
that  the  oath  is  addressed.  Thus,  Paul  tells  the  Hebrews,  "  To 
the  Son  he  saith,  Thy  throne,  0  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever,  a 
sceptre  of  righteousness  is  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom." — Heb. 
i.  8.  This  quotation  by  Paul  from  the  forty-fifth  Psalm,  doubly 
proves  our  point ; — as  Paul  testifies  that  it  is  to  the  Son,  as  such, 
that  the  address  is  made ;  and,  as  the  express  language  of  God 
himself  in  the  Psalm  declares,  that  he  who  is  addressed,  and  to 
whom  the  throne  of  David  is  given,  and  the  covenant  of  David 
established,  is  God  : — "  I  speak  of  the  things  which  I  have  made 
touching  the  King.  .  .  .  Thy  throne,  0  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever." 


sect,  v.]  The  Eternal  Covenant.  557 

So  the  oath  contained  in  our  text  is  addressed  by  one  divine 
Person  to  another  : — "  The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord,  Sit  thou  at 
my  right  hand."  In  fact,  the  very  nature  of  the  case  renders 
it  impossible  that  it  should  have  been  otherwise  than  as  God 
that  the  Son  was  addressed  and  became  a  party  to  the  covenant ; 
since  it  was  by  virtue  of  its  provisions  that  he  became  man. 
But  for  it  he  would  never  have  clothed  his  majesty  in  our  flesh. 

The  terms  of  the  covenant  consisted  of  two  parts.  These 
were, — a  work  to  be  done  by  the  Son  of  God;  and, — a  reward 
to  be  enjoyed,  in  compensation  for  that  work.  Both  of  these 
are  specified  by  our  Saviour,  in  his  prayer  to  the  Father,  in  John 
xvii.  1,  4,  5: — "Father,  the  hour  is  come:  glorify  thy  Son;  that 
thy  Son  also  may  glorify  thee.  ...  I  have  glorified  thee  on  the 
earth ;  I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou  gavest  me  to  do. 
And  now,  0  Father,  glorify  thou  me  with  thine  own  self,  with 
the  glory  which  I  had  with  thee  before  the  world  was." 

The  word  of  the  oath,  in  the  Psalm,  briefly,  but  fully,  sets 
forth  all  the  terms  of  the  covenant.  "This  Melchizedek,"  says 
Paul,  "  king  of  Salem,  priest  of  the  most  high  God ;  .  .  .  first  being 
by  interpretation  king  of  righteousness,  and  after  that  also  king 
of  Salem,  which  is  king  of  peace ;  without  father,  without  mother, 
without  descent,  having  neither  beginning  of  days,  nor  end  of 
life;  but  made  like  unto  the  Son  of  God;  abideth  a  priest  con- 
tinually."— Heb.  vii.  1-3.  The  provisions  were  these: — That, 
as  Priest,  Christ  should  take  to  himself  a  body  and  soul,  of  the 
nature  of  man ;  honour,  by  a  perfect  obedience,  that  holy  law, 
which  the  first  Adam  dishonoured  by  transgression;  fulfil  the 
terms  of  that  covenant  of  life,  which  Adam  broke;  and  offer 
himself  a  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  God's  justice;  enduring,  in  the 
place  of  his  people,  the 'curse,  which  they  had  incurred; — that, 
as  King  of  Righteousness,  he  should  pursue  with  his  avenging 
sword,  and  utterly  subdue  and  destroy,  Satan  and  his  followers, 
— all  his  and  the  Father's  enemies ; — and  that,  as  King  of  Peace, 
he  should  subdue  to  himself  the  hearts  of  a  chosen  people; 
rescue  them  from  the  power  of  Satan  and  sin ;  and  of  them,  as 
goodly  stones,  build  a  spiritual  house,  to  stand  forever, — a  temple 
to  the  glory  of  the  Father,  in  the  presence  of  all  creatures. 


558  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xix. 

The  conditions,  which  were  pledged  to  the  Son  by  the  Father, 
had  respect  to  his  own  person,  to  his  people  and  to  his  enemies. 
To  his  person  was  promised,  the  formation  of  a  sinless  human- 
ity, to  serve  as  a  fitting  temple  for  the  incarnation  of  his  God- 
head, and  the  shedding  abroad  of  its  glories, — the  bestowal  upon 
his  mediatorial  person,  of  the  indwelling  fulness  of  the  personal 
presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  be  possessed  by  him  as  his  Spirit, 
and  employed  by  him  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  purposes  of  the 
covenant;  and, — the  gift  to  him,  as  Mediator,  of  honour,  glory 
and  dominion  over  all  creatures  in  heaven  and  earth.  It  was 
provided,  that,  in  honour  of  his  condescension,  in  stooping  to 
assume  the  nature  of  man,  the  manhood  thus  assumed  should 
occupy  the  throne  of  heaven ;  and,  in  the  presence  of  all  the  in- 
telligences of  the  universe,  possess  eternal  blessedness,  dominion 
and  glory, — and  that  to  him  as  thus  enthroned,  God-man,  Me- 
diator, every  knee  should  bow  and  every  tongue  should  swear. 
The  conditions  respecting  the  people  of  Christ  embraced  their 
acceptance  and  justification,  as  righteous  in  him, — their  recog- 
nition, adoption  and  investiture,  as  in  him  sons  of  God, — the 
bestowal  upon  them  of  eternal  life, — and  the  enjoyment  by  them 
of  a  joint  inheritance  with  Christ,  in  his  kingdom,  glory  and 
blessedness  forever.  As  respects  his  enemies,  the  covenant  se- 
cured the  Son  complete  triumph  over  them,  and  glory  in  them, 
in  their  destruction. 

As  the  great  end  of  this  entire  scheme  was  the  display  of  the 
divine  glory ;  and  the  salvation  of  the  elect  of  God  was  the  great 
instrumentality,  designed  to  that  end;  so,  provision  was  made 
therein  for  the  performance,  by  each  Person  of  the  Godhead,  of 
parts  severally  appropriate,  and  suited  to  the  revelation  of  the 
relations  subsisting  between  the  several  Persons  of  the  blessed 
Trinity.  Briefly,  on  this  point, — the  functions  assigned  to  the 
Father  in  the  covenant  of  redemption,  were  the  justification,  in 
Christ,  of  his  people, — their  adoption,  as,  in  him,  sons  of  God, 
— and  their  final  investiture  with  the  heavenly  inheritance. 
The  functions  of  the  Son  were,  atonement  for  them  to  justice, — 
mediation  between  them  and  God, — and  the  exercise  over  them 
of  a  sovereignty,  in  which  his  sceptre  alike  subdues  them  to 


sect,  v.]  The  Eternal  Covenant.  559 

himself,  and  protects  them  for  himself.  To  the  Holy  Spirit, 
were  assigned  the  offices  of  regenerating  the  redeemed, — of 
sanctifying  them, — of  raising  them  up  at  the  last  day,  body  and 
soul  alike  perfected  in  holiness  and  fitted  for  heaven, — and  of 
implanting  and  sustaining  in  them  eternal  life. 

In  the  origination  of  this  marvellous  plan  of  wisdom  and 
grace,  the  precedence  belongs  to  God  the  Father.  It  was  he, 
as  we  have  seen,  who  "so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only 
begotten  Son."  In  its  execution,  it  is  the  Son,  to  whom  the  first 
place  is  assigned;  and,  upon  the  assumed  certainty  of  his  infal- 
lible faithfulness  to  his  part,  were  suspended,  not  only  all  the 
provisions  of  the  covenant,  but  all  the  blessings  which  under  it 
were  enjoyed  by  the  saints  who  lived  before  the  coming  of  the 
First  Begotten  into  the  world.  In  the  application  of  the  grace 
and  salvation,  thus  devised  by  the  Father,  and  provided  by  the 
Son,  God  the  Spirit  assumes  the  precedence.  Before  either 
atoning  blood  can  avail,  or  adopting  love  be  exercised,  the  trans- 
forming work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  must  be  realized  by  the  elect. 
Whilst  the  functions  of  each  Person  are  thus  distinctly  defined, 
it  is  also  equally  clear  that  in  none  of  them  is  there  any  thing 
short  of  the  unanimous  presence,  concurrence  and  co-operation 
of  the  blessed  Three.  In  the  formation  of  the  eternal  plan,  the 
Son,  the  Wisdom  of  God,  was  present,  participating  in  it  all,  as 
well  as  entering  into  a  specific  covenant  relation  to  it; — and  so, 
also,  was  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  the  whole  atoning  work  of  the 
Son,  the  Spirit  was  possessed  by  him  without  measure;  and  the 
Father  did  not  leave  him  alone.  (John  viii.  29.)  And  the  Spirit, 
in  performing  his  work,  is  not  only  sent  by  the  Father  and  Son, 
but  is  the  witness  to  the  soul  of  their  presence  and  grace,  and 
the  medium  of  their  communings  with  it. 

The  conditions  of  the  covenant  were  freely  accepted  by  the 
Son.  "  For  the  joy  that  was  set  before  him,  he  endured  the 
cross,  despising  the  shame." — Heb.  xii.  2.  When  the  proposal 
was  made,  his  cheerful  reply  was,  "Lo,  I  come  to  do  thy  will, 
0  God." — Heb.  x.  9.  "When  I  shall  receive  the  congregation  I 
will  judge  uprightly." — Ps.  lxxv.  2.  And  when  he  had  come  to 
earth,  and  was  engaged  in  fulfilling  the  purposes  of  the  cove- 


560  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xix. 

nant,  lie  says,  "  Therefore  doth  my  Father  love  me,  because  I 
lay  down  my  life,  that  I  might  take  it  again.  No  man  taketh  it 
from  me,  but  I  lay  it  down  of  myself.  I  have  power  to  lay  it 
down,  and  I  have  power  to  take  it  again." — John  x.  17,  18. 
When  the  foreshadowings  of  the  storm  of  indignation  for  sin 
came  upon  him,  he  exclaims,  "  Now  is  my  soul  troubled ;  and 
(tc  ELTTto ;  IJdzsp,  ocoabv  /jls  ix  t5}q  ujpo.Q  tauv^;  alio.  x.  r.  A.)* 
what  shall  I  say?  Shall  I  say,  Father,  save  me  from  this 
hour?  But  for  this  cause  came  I  unto  this  hour.  Father, 
glorify  thy  name." — John  xii.  27,  28.  And  when  betrayed,  he 
rebukes  the  use  of  the  sword,  by  the  impetuous  Peter,  with  the 
inquiry,  "  Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  now  pray  to  my  Father, 
and  he  shall  presently  give  me  more  than  twelve  legions  of 
angels?  But  how  then  shall  the  Scriptures  be  fulfilled,  that 
thus  it  must  be?" — Matt.  xxvi.  53,  54.  He  loved  us,  and  freely 
gave  himself  for  us. 

Whilst,  in  the  transaction  here  considered,  the  Father  and 
Son  were  the  ofiicial  contracting  Parties,  the  Holy  Spirit  sus- 
,  6  The  Hol  tained  a  relation  to  it  equally  intimate  with  theirs. 
Spirit  was  He  was  the  Witness  of  the  covenant,  and  concurred 

Witness.  in  an  its  provisions  and  terms,  involving,  as  they 

did,  his  active  agency  in  every  stage  of  their  execution;  and 
designed,  as  they  were,  for  unfolding  the  glory  of  all  the  Persons 
in  the  unity  of  the  Triune  God.  Hence,  he  is  joined  with  the 
Father  in  sending  the  Son  on  his  mission  of  grace,  in  pursuance 
of  the  covenant.  Says  the  Messiah,  "The  Lord  God  and  his 
Spirit  hath  sent  me." — Isa.  xlviii.  16.  In  fulfilment  of  this,  his 
witnessing  office,  the  Holy  Ghost  testified  beforehand,  to  the 
prophets,  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  the  glory  that  should 
follow.  To  the  same  end,  at  his  baptism,  the  Spirit  descended 
as  a  dove  and  abode  upon  Jesus ;  thus  bearing  witness  to  him  as 
the  incarnate  Son  of  God.  Says  John  the  Baptist,  "  I  knew  him 
not;  but  he  that  sent  me  to  baptize  with  water,  the  same  said 
unto  me,  Upon  whom  thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit  descending  and 
remaining  on  him,  the  same  is  he  which  baptizeth  with  the  Holy 

*  Griesbachii  Nov.  Test.  Graec,  in  loco. 


sect,  v.]  The  Eternal  Covenant.  561 

Ghost.  And  I  saw,  and  bare  record  that  this  is  the  Son  of  God." 
— John  i.  32-34.  Throughout  the  whole  course  of  his  ministry, 
Christ  was  accompanied  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  fulfilment  of  this 
witnessing  office.  By  the  Spirit  he  wrought  his  miracles,  as 
himself  declares  to  the  Pharisees: — "If  I  cast  out  devils  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  then  the  kingdom  of  God  is  come  unto  you." — 
Matt.  xii.  28.  And  to  those  works  he  appeals,  as  the  evidence 
of  his  mission  from  God: — "I  have  greater  witness  than  that  of 
John;  for  the  works  which  the  Father  hath  given  me  to  finish, 
the  same  works  that  I  do,  bear  witness  of  me  that  the  Father 
hath  sent  me." — John  v.  36.  So,  too,  when  he  had  finished  the 
work  thus  given  him,  he  "was  {tdr/M.uodrj  iv  rcveupLavc)  justified 
by  the  Spirit;  received  up  to  glory." — 1  Tim.  iii.  16.  He  was 
justified  by  being  attested,  as  having  fulfilled  all  the  terms  of 
the  covenant,  and  as  thus  entitled  to  reception  into  heaven,  and 
enthronement  in  the  dominion  and  kingdom  which  were  pro- 
mised. In  testimony  of  this,  Christ  was,  by  the  Spirit,  raised 
from  the  dead  and  received  up  to  glory.  (Eom.  viii.  11.)  Nor 
are  we  to  imagine  that,  in  all  this,  the  office  performed  by  the 
Spirit  was  one  of  a  merely  external  nature,  attesting  to  others 
the  fact  that  this  was  the  Son  of  God.  But,  to  the  man  Christ 
Jesus  himself  was  he  the  Witness  of  the  covenant;  attesting 
his  call  to  the  royal  priesthood;  revealing  to  him  the  terms 
and  conditions  of  the  covenant,  in  all  their  extent  and  details; 
the  humiliation,  abasement,  suffering  and  shame,  and  the  exalta- 
tion and  glory ;  and,  when  the  work  of  abasement  and  sacrifice 
was  finished,  attesting  it  complete,  and  assuring  him  of  the  per- 
fected title  to  the  highest  throne  and  the  Father's  glory.  Hence 
that  testimony  of  John  the  Baptist : — "  He  whom  God  hath  sent 
speaketh  the  words  of  God ;  for  God  giveth  not  the  Spirit  by 
measure  unto  him.  The  Father  loveth  the  Son,  and  hath  given 
all  things  into  his  hand." — John  iii.  34,  35.  To  the  same  effect 
is  the  testimony  of  Christ  himself,  when,  in  the  synagogue,  he 
read,  from  Isaiah, — "The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because 
he  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor ;  he  hath 
sent  me  to  heal  the  broken-hearted,  to  preach  deliverance  to  the 
captives,  and  recovering  of  sight  to  the  blind;  to  set  at  liberty 

36 


562  The  Eloldra  Revealed.  [chap.  xix. 

them  that  are  bruised,  to  preach  the  acceptable  year  of  the 
Lord," — and  told  the  people,  "This  day  is  this  scripture  fulfilled 
in  your  ears." — Luke  iv.  18-21.  This  office  of  the  Spirit  as 
Witness,  attesting  to  the  Son  the  promises  of  the  covenant, 
is  spoken  of  in  the  forty-fifth  Psalm,  quoted  by  Paul  to  the  He- 
brews:— "Thou  hast  loved  righteousness,  and  hated  iniquity: 
therefore  God,  even  thy  God,  hath  anointed  thee  with  the  oil  of 
gladness  above  thy  fellows." — Heb.  i.  9. 

The  witnessing  office  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  particularly  empha- 
sized by  the  apostle  John,  both  in  his  gospel  and  first  epistle. 
Thus,  speaking  of  that  victorious  faith  which  overcometh  the 
world,  he  founds  it  on  that  very  covenant  of  which  we  here 
speak; — he  refers  it  to  "the  record  that  God' gave  us  of  his  Son. 
And  this  is  the  record,  that  God  hath  given  to  us  eternal  life, 
and  this  life  is  in  his  Son."  Of  that  record,  "it  is  the  Spirit  that 
beareth  witness,  because  the  Spirit  is  truth.  For  there  are  three 
that  bear  record  in  heaven,  the  Father,  the  "Word,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost:  and  these  three  are  one." — 1  John  v.  6,  7,  11.  Thus, 
whilst  recognising  the  testimony  of  both  the  Father  and  Son, 
the  apostle  distinguishes  that  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  peculiar  and 
official: — "It  is  the  Spirit  that  beareth  witness,  because  the 
Spirit  is  truth."  Nor  is  it  any  less  the  fulfilment  of  his  office 
of  Witness,  as  between  the  Father  and  Son,  because  the  testi- 
mony here  spoken  of  is  addressed  to  the  elect.  Being,  by  the 
engrafting  of  the  Spirit,  united  to  Christ,  and  made  members  of 
his  body,  his  people  are  identified  with  him  in  the  covenant.  In 
him,  and  with  him,  they  are  parties  to  it,  entitled  to  possess  its 
promises,  and  secured  in  the  possession  by  the  word  of  the  oath. 
Hence,  by  the  Witness,  its  whole  riches  are  attested  to  them,  as 
parties. 

It  is  on  account  of  this  identity  of  his  people  with  him,  and 
community  of  interest  in  the  blessings  which  are  his  by  cove- 
nant right,  that  Jesus  tells  his  disciples,  "All  things  that  I  have 
heard  of  my  Father  I  have  made  known  unto  you." — John  xv. 
15.  "All  things," — to  wit,  the  provisions  of  the  covenant,  in- 
cluding his  own  enthronement  and  honour,  and  theirs  with  him. 
As  he  says,  in  another  place,  "I  appoint  unto  you  a  kingdom,  as 


sect,  vi.]  The  Eternal  Covenant  563 

my  Father  hath  appointed  unto  me;  that  ye  may  eat  and  drink 
at  my  table  in  my  kingdom,  and  sit  on  thrones,  judging  the 
twelve  tribes  of  Israel." — Luke  xxii.  29,  30.  Equally  clear  and 
conclusive,  on  the  present  point,  is  another  statement  of  Christ : 
— "When  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into 
all  truth :  for  he  shall  not  speak  of  himself;  but  whatsoever  he 
shall  hear,  that  shall  he  speak;  and  he  will  show  you  things  to 
come.  He  shall  glorify  me;  for  he  shall  receive  of  mine,  and 
shall  show  it  unto  you.  All  things  that  the  Father  hath  are 
mine :  therefore  said  I,  that  he  shall  take  of  mine,  and  shall  show 
it  unto  you." — John  xvi.  13-15.  Of  this  mission  of  the  Spirit, 
Christ  had  stated,  in  previous  parts  of  his  discourse,  that  he 
would  be  sent  by  the  Father,  in  the  name  of  the  Son,  (xiv.  26 ;) 
that  Christ  himself  would  send  him  from  the  Father,  (xv.  26;) 
and  that  his  coming  was  dependent  on  Christ's  ascension: — "If 
I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you;  but  if  I 
depart  I  will  send  him  unto  you." — John  xvi.  7.  It  thus  appears 
that  the  work  of  the  Spirit,  to  which  he  has  reference,  was  of 
such  a  nature  as  to  imply  the  completion,  by  the  Son.  of  his 
covenanted  work, — his  entrance  and  approval  before  the  Father, 
and  his  consequent  investiture  with  the  dominion  of  all  things, 
including  the  right,  by  express  endowment  from  the  Father,  of 
sending  the  Spirit,  to  testify  of  his  finished  work,  his  eternal 
priesthood  and  universal  throne.  Then,  in  the  language  quoted 
above,  he  declares  that  the  Spirit,  thus  sent,  will  impart  all 
truth;  and  that,  as  to  the  nature  of  his  revelations,  they  are  of 
things  of  which  he  is  not  the  author,  but  the  auditor  and  wit- 
ness; things,  therefore,  which  have  their  origin  with  the  other 
Persons,  and  which  include  the  future  glory  of  which  Christ  and 
his  people  are  heirs: — "He  will  show  you  things  to  come."  He 
then  more  specifically  states,  that  the  things  of  which  this  testi- 
mony will  be  given  comprehend  the  entire  riches  of  the  glory  of 
the  Father ;  all  of  which  has  become  the  possession  of  the  Son, 
and,  as  his,  will  be  revealed  to  his  people: — "All  things  that  the 
Father  hath  are  mine ;  therefore  said  I  that  he  shall  take  of  mine, 
and  shall  show  it  unto  you."  How  intimately  all  this  relates  to 
the  eternal  covenant,  and  how  clearly  it  recognises  the  office  of 


564  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  xix. 

the  Spirit  as  its  Witness,  we  need  not  insist.  In  respect  to  the 
fulfilment  of  these  promises  of  the  ascending  Son  of  God,  Paul 
says  that  "eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  en- 
tered into  the  heart  of  man,  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared 
for  them  that  love  him.  But  God  hath  revealed  them  unto  us 
by  his  Spirit;  for  the  Spirit  searcheth  all  things,  yea,  the  deep 
things  of  God."— 1  Cor.  ii.  9,  10. 

We  may  not  dwell  longer  on  this  interesting  topic.  We  have 
seen  enough  to  demonstrate  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  official 
Witness  to  the  covenant,  and  that  he  fulfils  this  office  by  the 
anointing  and  mission  of  the  Son  to  perform  its  conditions ;  by 
attesting  the  covenant  to  Jesus,  as  its  Mediator,  and  bearing 
witness  to  his  faithfulness  in  fulfilling  its  terms,  and  consequent 
title  to  its  promises ;  and  by  testifying  of  the  same  things  to  the 
chosen  people  of  Christ,  the  members  of  his  body,  and  partakers 
with  him  in  the  promises.  We  may  add,  that  his  office  is  fur- 
ther fulfilled  in  testifying  of  these  things  to  the  enemies  of  Christ, 
to  their  confusion  and  condemnation. 

We  have  assumed,  without  question,  the  covenant  character 
of  the  transaction  here  considered.  That  such  was  its  true 
2 1.  it  was  a  nature,  does  not  admit  of  reasonable  question.  It 
real  covenant.  nas  every  characteristic  of  a  formal  covenant;  to 
wit,  parties,  mutual  conditions  and  a  seal.  It  is,  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, constantly  called,  a  covenant;  and  its  conditional  cha- 
racter is  there  presented,  everywhere,  in  conspicuous  light.  The 
language  in  which  Jehovah  introduces  the  oath,  is  clear  and 
sufficient,  in  respect  to  the  rewards  and  honours  which  were 
promised  to  the  incarnate  Priest : — "  The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord, 
Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand,  until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  foot- 
stool. The  Lord  shall  send  the  rod  of  thy  strength  out  of  Zion ; 
rule  thou  in  the  midst  of  thine  enemies.  Thy  people  shall  be 
willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power."  The  words  of  the  oath,  itself, 
ordaining  him  a  royal  priest,  indicate,  not  only  enthronement 
and  dignity,  but  the  performance  of  a  sacrificial  work,  which 
comprehended  the  whole  history  of  his  humiliation.  "For  every 
high  priest  is  ordained  to  offer  gifts  and  sacrifices;  wherefore  it 
is  of  necessity  that  this  man  have  somewhat  also  to  offer." — 


sect,  vi.]  The  Eternal  Covenant.  565 

Heb.  viii.  3.  The  Messianic  Psalms  are  very  clear,  as  to  the 
nature  of  the  transaction  which  they  celebrate, — as  being  one  of 
conditional  terms.  The  fifty-third  of  Isaiah,  sets  forth  in  un- 
ambiguous language  the  humiliation  and  death  to  which  the  Son 
was  to  be  subjected;  and  the  rewards  of  salvation  to  his  people, 
and  exaltation  to  himself,  which  were  secured  to  him  in  return ; 
and  which  are  there  expressly  described  as  conditional : — "  There- 
fore will  I  divide  him  a  portion  with  the  great,  and  he  shall 
divide  the  spoil  with  the  strong ;  because  he  hath  poured  out  his 
soul  unto  death ;  and  he  was  numbered  with  the  transgressors ; 
and  he  bare  the  sins  of  many,  and  made  intercession  for  the 
transgressors." — Isa.  liii.  12.  Our  Saviour  distinctly  alludes  to 
the  provisions  of  the  covenant,  when,  in  his  mediatorial  prayer, 
he  says,  "  Father,  the  hour  is  come.  ...  I  have  finished  the  work 
which  thou  gavest  me  to  do.  And  now,  0  Father,  glorify  thou 
me  with  thine  own  self,  with  the  glory  which  I  had  with  thee 
before  the  world  was." — John  xvii.  1,  4,  5.  Here  is  a  pre- 
determined time  indicated, — the  time  of  the  conflict  of  the  Son 
of  God  with  the  powers  of  darkness ;  as  he  says  to  the  betrayer, 
"This  is  your  hour  and  the  power  of  darkness." — Luke  xxii.  53. 
Here  is  a  work  mentioned,  which  he  came  to  perform, — a  work 
given  him  by  the  Father  to  do.  Two  elements  in  its  design  and 
end  are  mentioned;  namely,  salvation  to  his  people, — "As  thou 
hast  given  him  power  over  all  flesh,  that  he  should  give  eternal 
life  to  as  many  as  thou  hast  given  him;" — and  glory  to  the 
Father's  name, — "I  have  glorified  thee:  I  have  finished  the 
work."  And,  on  the  ground  of  the  fulfilment  of  the  conditions, 
he  claims  the  reward : — "I  have  finished  the  work;  and  now,  0 
Father,  glorify  thou  me."  "Glorify  me,  the  mediatorial  person, 
God-man,  with  the  glory  which  I,  the  Son,  had  with  thee  before 
the  world  was."  So,  Paul  tells  the  Hebrews,  that  the  self- 
abasement  of  the  Son  of  God  was  assumed,  as  a  condition  and 
pledge  of  subsequent  reward: — "Who,  for  the  joy  that  was  set 
before  him,  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame,  and  is  set 
down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God." — Heb.  xii.  2.  In 
short,  the  whole  discussion  of  Paul,  in  respect  to  the  priesthood 
of  Christ,  in  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  involves  it  as  a  funda- 


566  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xix. 

mental  fact,  that  the  oath  of  Jehovah,  by  which  the  Son  was 
ordained  a  royal  and  eternal  priest,  was  the  solemn  ratification 
of  a  formal  conditional  covenant  between  those  blessed  and 
adorable  Persons.  Thus,  in  one  word,  comparing  Christ's  priest- 
hood with  that  of  Aaron,  he  says,  that,  "Inasmuch  as  not  with- 
out an  oath  he  was  made  priest;  (for  those  priests  were  made 
without  an  oath ;  but  this  with  an  oath,  by  him  that  said  unto 
him,  The  Lord  sware,  and  will  not  repent,  Thou  art  a  priest  for- 
ever after  the  order  of  Melchizedek ;)  by  so  much  was  Jesus 
made  a  surety  of  a  better  covenant." — ITeb.  vii.  20-22.  Here, 
not  only  is  the  transaction  designated  as,  {dca&rf/r^)  a  covenant, 
but  the  office  which  is  assigned  to  Christ  involves  the  same 
thing.  A  surety,  is  one  who  enters  into  engagement  for  the 
fulfilment  of  the  conditions  of  a  contract  or  covenant.  The  case 
is  still  further  demonstrated,  by  the  comparison  made  of  the 
"better  covenant,"  with  that  which  was  made  with  Israel  at 
Sinai.  That  the  latter  was  a  proper  covenant,  is  beyond  ques- 
tion; and,  that  the  oath  made  with  Christ  was  of  the  same  na- 
ture, the  apostle  assures  us. 

Another  point  of  interest,  in  respect  to  the  transaction  here 
considered,  is  its  date.  Its  history  is  parallel  with  the  eternity 
g  8.  its  date  of  God.  This  is  implied  in  the  fact  that  the 
eternity.  covenant  was  made  between  the  Persons  of  the  God- 

head. Since  it  began  and  terminated  among  those  adorable 
Persons,  it  is  therefore  independent  of  any  limitations  of  time; 
and  belongs  to  the  annals  of  eternity.  The  conclusion  thus 
attained,  is  further  demonstrated  by  the  fact,  that  every  element 
in  the  covenant  is,  in  the  Scriptures,  distinctly  referred  to  a  date 
before  the  beginning  of  time.  Thus  it  is  of  Christ's  priestly 
office.  Says  Peter,  "  Ye  are  redeemed  .  .  .  with  the  precious  blood 
of  Christ,  as  of  a  lamb  without  blemish  and  without  spot ;  who 
verily  was  foreordained  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  but 
was  manifest  in  these  last  times." — 1  Peter  i.  19,  20.  Nothing 
can  be  more  evident,  than,  that  the  atoning  work  of  Christ  must 
have  been  a  voluntary  work,  and  not  imposed  without  his  con- 
sent; and  we  have  sufficiently  shown  that  such  was  in  fact  the 
case.    The  compact,  by  which  he  agreed  to  undertake  that  work, 


sect,  vii.]  The  Eternal  Covenant.  567 

must  then  be  at  least  as  old  as  the  decree  by  which  he  was  or- 
dained to  the  office  of  atonement.  That  decree  is  here  by  the 
apostle  located  before  the  foundation  of  the  world.  That,  there- 
fore, is  the  date  of  the  covenant,  by  which  he  became  a  priest. 
The  same  principle  applies  to  the  terms  in  which  John  speaks 
of  the  redeemed,  as  those  "  whose  names  are  written  in  the  book 
of  life  of  the  Lamb  slain,  from  the  foundation  of  the  world." — 
Rev.  xiii.  8.  See  also  xvii.  8.  From  these  places  we  learn  the 
date  of  the  oath  by  which  Christ  was  ordained  a  priest  after  the 
order  of  Melchizedek.  The  priestly  office  of  Christ  must  be 
admitted  to  take  precedence  of  his  sacrificial  work,  as  the  slain 
Lamb ;  since  it  is  in  the  exercise  of  his  priesthood,  that  he  pro- 
vides and  offers  himself  a  sacrifice.  Further,  both  of  these  must 
have  been  coincident  with  the  en^ry  in  the  book  of  life  of  the 
Lamb,  of  the  names  of  those  for  whom  his  blood  was  given.  But 
the  devotion  of  the  Lamb  to  sacrifice,  and  the  inscription  of  the 
names  in  the  book,  are  both  defined  as  occurring  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world;  or,  as  the  same  date  is  above  expressed  by 
Peter,  " before  the  foundation  of  the  world."  The  same,  there- 
fore, must  be  the  date  of  the  word  of  the  oath  by  which  he  was 
consecrated  a  priest.  With  this,  too,  agrees  the  parallel,  drawn 
by  Paul,  between  Melchizedek  and  Christ: — "Having  neither 
beginning  of  days,  nor  end  of  life." — Heb.  vii.  3. 

That  the  covenant  originated  in  the  councils  of  eternity,  we 
are  expressly  assured  by  Paul.  He  speaks  of  the  "hope  of 
eternal  life,  which  God,  that  cannot  lie,  promised  before  the  world 
began." — Tit.  i.  2.  This  promise  could  not  have  been  given  to 
any  creature.  It  was  made  before  creature  had  being.  To 
whom  it  was  given,  Paul,  in  another  place,  tells  us : — "  God  hath 
saved  us,  and  called  us  with  a  holy  calling,  not  according  to  our 
works,  but  according  to  his  own  purpose  and  grace,  which  was 
given  us,  in  Christ  Jesus,  before  the  world  began." — 2  Tim.  i.  9. 
Again,  to  the  Ephesians,  he  says,  "Blessed  be  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  blessed  us  with  all 
spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ :  according  as  he 
hath  chosen  us  in  him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world.  .  .  . 
Having  made  known  unto  us  the  mvsterv  of  his  will,  according  to 


568  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xix. 

his  good  pleasure  which  he  hath  purposed  in  him;  that  in  the 
dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  times  he  might  gather  together 
in  one  all  things  in  Christ,  both  which  are  in  heaven  and  which 
are  on  earth." — Eph.  i.  3,  4,  9,  10.  In  Paul's  discussion,  here, 
the  whole  scheme  of  grace  is  represented  as,  in  its  sum  and  ful- 
ness, originating  in  eternity.  The  saints  are  represented  as  then 
chosen  "in  Christ."  The  mystery  of  God's  will,  respecting  the 
dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  time,  was  purposed,  (iv  olutco,)  "in 
him," — not,  "in  himself,"  as  our  translation  has  it.  That  mys- 
tery was  the  eternal  purpose  "to  gather  together  in  one  all 
things  in  Christ."  Comprehended  in  that  general  plan,  is  de- 
clared to  be,  the  inheritance  to  which  the  saints  are  called,  (v. 
10,  11 ;)  and  the  official  attestation  of  that  inheritance  is  attri- 
buted to  the  Holy  Spirit,  bearing  witness  of  it  to  them,  as  one 
with  Christ,  the  Son  and  heir : — "  In  whom,  after  that  ye  believed, 
ye  were  sealed  with  that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  which  is  the 
earnest  of  our  inheritance,  until  the  redemption  of  the  purchased 
possession,  unto  the  praise  of  his  glory." — verses  13,  14. 

When  we  add,  that  the  kingdom  to  which  Christ's  followers 
are  heirs  was  bestowed  upon  them  from  eternity,  the  evidence 
on  the  present  point  would  seem  to  be  complete.  That  kingdom 
becomes  theirs,  by  virtue  of  investiture  from  Christ  himself,  in 
the  exercise  of  his  own  royalty,  which  is  acquired  by  the  cove- 
nant. Hence,  Jesus  says  to  the  church  in  Laodicsea,  "To  him 
that  overcometh  will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me  in  my  throne,  even 
as  I  also  overcame,  and  am  set  down  with  my  Father  in  his 
throne." — Kev.  iii.  21.  See  also  Matt.  xix.  28,  and  Luke  xxii. 
29.  But,  the  kingdom  thus  bestowed,  Christ  himself  declares 
to  have  been  prepared  for  them  from  everlasting : — "  Come,  ye 
blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world." — Matt.  xxv.  34.  From  all  this, 
it  is  unquestionable,  that  the  oath  of  the  covenant,  as  recited  in 
the  Psalm,  was  addressed  by  the  First  Person  of  the  Godhead  to 
the  Second,  in  the  seclusion  of  their  own  eternity.  This  position 
is  further  confirmed  by  the  fact,  to  be  noticed  presently,  that 
Christ  was  enthroned  as  covenant  king,  from  everlasting. 

We  shall,  at  present,  particularly  insist  upon  but  one  of  the 


sect,  vin.]  The  Eternal  Covenant.  569 

provisions  of  the  covenant.  The  others  are  considered  in  the 
a  9.  iu  benefi-  following  chapters.  As  respects  the  salvation  of 
daries  the  men,  the  transaction  was  one  of  special  and  distin- 
guishing grace,  for  an  elect  or  chosen  multitude, 
who  are  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  and  as  the  stars  of  heaven  innu- 
merable; but  who  were  individually  known  and  numbered  in 
the  covenant ;  and  whose  salvation  was  therein  rendered  infallibly- 
secure,  as  a  reward  to  the  Son  for  his  incarnation  and  death. 
The  truth  of  this  is  necessarily  involved  in  the  whole  plan  of 
salvation,  and  manner  of  its  application.  The  plan  is  one,  the 
specific  object  of  which,  so  far  as  the  present  point  is  concerned, 
was  the  salvation  of  a  people  from  their  sins.  The  means  by 
which  this  was  to  be  accomplished  were  two : — first,  the  death 
of  the  Mediator,  as  satisfaction  on  their  behalf  to  the  penalty 
of  the  violated  law;  and  second,  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Both  of  these  are  entirely  independent  of  any  merit  or  agency 
of  those  upon  whom  the  salvation  is  bestowed.  The  application 
of  the  atoning  blood  must,  manifestly,  be  at  the  mere  discretion 
of  God,  as  it  is  a  thing  which,  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case, 
no  man  could  merit,  and  which,  therefore,  no  man  could  claim, 
as  of  right.  And  the  renewing  of  the  soul  is  a  work,  prior  to 
which,  no  man  is  reconciled  to  God;  and  of  which,  therefore, 
the  antecedent  consent  or  acquiescence  of  the  subject  of  it  can- 
not be  predicated.  Christ's  people  are  indeed  willing  in  the  day 
of  his  power;  but  that  willingness  does  not  anticipate,  but  re- 
sults from,  the  power.  They  are  born,  "not  of  blood,  nor  of  the 
will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God." — John  i. 
13.  The  salvation  being,  therefore,  in  all  its  parts,  the  work 
of  God,  alone,  who  could  as  easily  have  saved  all  as  any,  the 
fact  that,  whilst  some  are  saved,  others  are  left  to  their  own 
way,  and  consequent  ruin,  is  proof  of  a  distinguishing  grace 
exercised  toward  those  who  are  saved.  The  fact  that  a  certain 
specific  number  will  at  length  reign  in  glory,  as  the  Mediator's 
reward,  who  were  all  foreknown  by  him,  implies,  unavoidably, 
that,  in  consenting  to  bear  the  curse,  these  were  the  very  per- 
sons whose  salvation  he  anticipated,  and  in  consideration  of 
whose   salvation   he   agreed  to  suffer.     It  is  also  certain  that 


570  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xix. 

he  did  not  agree  to  save  those  who  will  at  last  perish.  Nor  was 
their  salvation  promised  to  him  in  the  covenant.  Their  redemp- 
tion, therefore,  was  no  part  of  the  consideration,  impelled  by 
which,  he  bore  the  cross.  They  were  given  to  him;  but  not 
as  a  willing  people.  In  regard  to  them  the  promise  is,  "I  will 
beat  down  his  foes  before  his  face,  and  plague  them  that  hate 
him." — Psalm  lxxxix.  23.  The  fact  that  in  the  covenant  itself 
the  human  race  was  distinguished  into  two  parties, — the  people 
of  Christ,  and  his  enemies;  and  that  the  former  are  given  to 
him  as  willing  and  joyful  subjects  of  his  sceptre  of  grace,  whilst 
the  others  are  consigned  to  the  sword  of  his  wrath,  stands  out 
everywhere  conspicuous  upon  the  face  of  the  Scriptures.  The 
line  of  distinction  is  broadly  drawn  in  the  very  first  announce- 
ment of  the  redeeming  seed: — "I  will  put  enmity  between  thee 
and  the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  Seed;  it  shall 
bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  His  heel." — Gen.  iii.  15. 
Certainly,  that  blessed  promise  did  not  include  in  its  provisions 
of  grace  the  seed  of  the  serpent.  The  same  demarcation  is  seen 
in  the  one  hundred  and  tenth  Psalm,  in  immediate  connection 
with  the  oath  of  the  covenant : — "  The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord, 
Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand,  until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  foot- 
stool. The  Lord  shall  send  the  rod  of  thy  strength  out  of  Zion : 
rule  thou  in  the  midst  of  thine  enemies.  .  .  .  The  Lord  at  thy 
right  hand  shall  strike  through  kings  in  the  day  of  his  wrath." 
Such  are  the  terms  used,  on  the  one  hand.  On  the  other : — 
"Thy  people  shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power,  in  the 
beauties  of  holiness  from  the  womb  of  the  morning :  thou  hast 
-  the  dew  of  thy  youth."  So  in  the  fifty-third  of  Isaiah,  whilst 
the  leading  thought  is  that  of  salvation  to  his  seed,  the  perdition 
of  his  enemies  is  not  omitted: — "Therefore  will  I  divide  him  a 
portion  with  the  great,  and  he  shall  divide  the  spoil  with  the 
strong."— Isa.  liii.  12. 

On  this  subject,  the  testimony  of  our  Saviour  himself  is  full 
and  unequivocal.  Thus,  speaking  of  the  affectionate  relation 
subsisting  between  him  and  his  apostles,  he  says  to  them,  "  I 
speak  not  of  you  all :  I  know  whom  I  have  chosen." — John  xiii. 
18.     In  the  parable  of  the  good  shepherd,  he  says,  "  I  am  the 


sect,  ix.]  The  Eternal  Covenant.  571 

good  shepherd,  and  know  my  sheep,  and  am  known  of  mine.  As 
the  Father  knoweth  me,  even  so  know  I  the  Father ;  and  I  lay- 
down  my  life  for  the  sheep.  And  other  sheep  I  have,  which  are 
not  of  this  fold :  them  also  I  must  bring ;  and  they  shall  hear 
my  voice;  and  there  shall  be  one  fold  and  one  shepherd." — John 
x.  14-16.  Here  he  asserts  his  sheep  to  be  distinctly  recognised 
by  him ;  and  that  it  is  for  them,  as  such,  that  he  lays  down  his 
life.  He  further  declares  that  his  sheep  are  not  all  of  the  Jewish 
fold,  nor  all  yet  gathered ;  but  that  all  must  at  length  be  gathered 
into  his  one  fold ;  thus  indicating  that,  by  the  sheep  for  whom 
he  died,  he  did  not  mean  actual  believers  only,  who  were  then 
living,  but  the  whole  number  of  those  whom  he  will  call  by  his 
grace,  and  at  last  gather  into  the  heavenly  fold.  Still  more  un- 
equivocally he  goes  on  to  say  to  the  Jews,  "  Ye  believe  not,  because 
ye  are  not  of  my  sheep,  as  I  said  unto  you.  My  sheep  hear  my 
voice,  and  I  know  them,  and  they  follow  me ;  and  I  give  unto 
them  eternal  life ;  and  they  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any 
pluck  them  out  of  my  hand.  My  Father  which  gave  them  me 
is  greater  than  all ;  and  none  is  able  to  pluck  them  out  of  my 
Father's  hand." — John  x.  26-29.  Thus  he  testifies  to  the  Jews, — 
not,  as  some  would  have  it,  that  they  were  not  his  sheep  because 
they  would  not  believe  ;  but  the  reverse  of  this  : — that  the  reason 
why  they  did  not  believe  was,  that  they  were  not  of  his  sheep, — 
that  if  they  were  his  sheep  they  would  hear  his  voice  and  believe. 
Again,  he  declares  that  his  sheep  were  a  gift  to  him  from  the 
Father, — that  he  gives  them  eternal  life,  and  that  they  shall 
never  perish.  Should  any  one  still  question  whether,  in  the 
covenant,  the  elect  were  expressly  given  to  the  Son,  and  their 
salvation  distinctly  provided  for  in  that  gift,  let  him  listen  to 
the  plea  of  the  Son  to  the  Father,  in  which  he  makes  express 
appeal  to  the  covenant,  and  claims  the  fulfilment  of  its  terms  : — 
"  Father,  the  hour  is  come :  glorify  thy  Son,  that  thy  Son  also 
may  glorify  thee.  As  thou  hast  given  him  power  over  all  flesh, 
that  (jzdv  o  diocoxaz  oJjtco)  to  every  one  whom  thou  hast  given 
him,  he  may  give  eternal  life."  "  I  pray  for  them  :  I  pray  not 
for  the  world,  but  for  them  which  thou  hast  given  me."  "  Father, 
I  will  that  they  also,  whom  thou  hast  given  me,  be  with  me 


572  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xix. 

where  I  am ;  that  they  may  behold  my  glory  which  thou  hast 
given  me." — John  xvii.  1,  2,  9,  24.  Paul  tells  the  Ephesians  that 
the  saints  were  by  God  the  Father  "chosen  in  Christ  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  that  we  should  be  holy  and  without 
blame  before  him  in  love :  having  predestinated  us  unto  the 
adoption  of  children  by  Jesus  Christ  to  himself." — Eph.  i.  4,  5. 

The  doctrine  of  the  covenant  election  of  grace  is  fundamental 
to  the  whole  plan  of  salvation  as  set  forth  in  these  pages.  Par- 
ticularly is  it  implied  in  the  fact,  that  those  who  are,  by  the 
terms  of  the  covenant,  given  to  Christ  as  co-heirs  in  the  promises, 
are,  specifically,  his  seed,  the  members  of  his  body.  But,  to  this 
point  we  shall  return  hereafter. 

The  seal  of  the  covenant  was  the  oath  of  God. — "  The  Lord 
hath  sworn,  and  will  not  repent."  We  have  seen  that  the 
?  10  its  seal  Promises  of  the  covenant,  although  primarily  ad- 
the  oath  of  dressed  to  the  Son,  were  repeatedly  reannounced 
God'  to  the  people  of  Christ,  to  Abraham  and  David,  and 

their  seed.  So  it  was  with  the  oath.  Says  the  Angel  of  the 
covenant  to  Abraham,  "  3y  myself  have  I  sworn,  saith  the  Lord, 
for  because  thou  hast  done  this  thing,  and  hast,  not  withheld  thy 
son,  thine  only  son,  that  in  blessing  I  will  bless  thee,  .  .  .  and  in 
thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed." — Gen. 
xxii.  16-18.  Peter,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  tells  the  multitude 
that  "  God  had  sworn  with  an  oath  to  David,  that  of  the  fruit 
of  his  loins,  according  to  the  flesh,  he  would  raise  up  Christ  to 
sit  on  his  throne." — Acts  ii.  30.  Such  is  the  rock  of  adamant 
on  which  the  provisions  of  the  covena.nt  stand, — the  oath  of  God. 
"  That  by  two  immutable  things,"  says  Paul,  "  in  which  it  was 
impossible  for  God  to  lie,"  namely,  his  counsel  and  his  oath,  "we 
might  have  a  strong  consolation,  who  have  fled  for  refuge  to  lay 
hold  upon  the  hope  set  before  us." — Heb.  vi.  18.  Heaven  and 
earth  may  pass  away ;  cherubim  transformed  into  devils  may 
plan  and  rage ;  the  powers  of  earth  may  combine  to  oppose : 
yet  shall  that  covenant  stand.  All  its  conditions  shall  be  ful- 
filled, and  all  its  purposes  accomplished ;  whether  of  glory  to  God, 
salvation  and  blessedness  to  man,  or  of  confusion  and  perdition 
to  Satan  and  his  followers,  the  enemies  of  God. 


sect,  ix.]  The  Eternal  Covenant.  573 

The  most  important  provisions  of  the  covenant  had  respect  to 
man,  securing  his  restoration  from  ruin  and  exaltation  to  eternal 
a  11.  it  or-  life  and-  8^01T-  Brit  we  have  abundant  evidence 
dained  the  Son  that  the  grand  design  of  the  whole  transaction  was 
as  Reveahr.  much  more  extensive  than  any  thing  involved  in  the 
mere  salvation  of  man  or  destruction  of  Satan.  As  in  the 
eternal  plan,  which  we  have  formerly  considered,  so  here,  the 
final  end  of  the  whole  dispensation  is  to  be  sought  in  God  him- 
self. It  is,  and  can  be,  nothing  less  than  the  revelation  of 
himself, — the  discovery  to  the  creatures  of  his  uncreated  glory. 
In  the  dispensation  of  such  a  scheme,  the  consummate  office  of 
the  Son  is  that  of  Eevealer  of  the  Father.  Such  is  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Scriptures ;  and  such  is  the  meaning  of  some  of 
the  names  there  given  to  the  Son.  Thus,  he  is  announced  to 
David,  and  described  by  Paul,  as  the  Adam  that  is  from  above. 
He  is  called  the  great  Prophet,  the  faithful  and  true  Witness, 
and  the  Logos,  or  Word  of  God ;  as  being  the  means  of  God's 
communication  with  the  creatures.  Hence,  too,  his  name  of 
Mediator,  as  the  medium  of  access  to  God,  not  for  men  only,  but 
for  every  creature.  "  No  man  (oudefc,  none,  no  being)  hath 
seen  God  at  any  time :  the  only-begotten  Son,  which  is  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Father,  he  hath  declared  him." — John  i.  18.  That 
such  is  the  fact,  in  respect  to  the  angelic  hosts  as  well  as  man, 
appears  from  this : — that,  whilst  no  creature  can  attain  to  any 
knowledge  of  the  invisible  God  by  immediate  perception,  or  in 
any  other  way  than  by  contemplating  what  he  has  done,  the  Son 
of  God  is  the  Mediator  through  whom  all  the  works  of  God  are 
wrought,  as  well  of  creation  and  providence  as  of  grace.  "  By 
him  God  made  the  worlds."  And  if,  to  the  heavenly  intelli- 
gences, "  the  invisible  things  of  him  from  the  creation  of  the 
world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the  things  that  are 
made,  even  his  eternal  power  and  Godhead," — Eom.  i.  20 ; — if,  to 
them,  "  the  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firma- 
ment showeth  his  handiwork,"— -Psalm  xix.  1 ;  in  these  they  see 
that  glory  as  it  shines  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ,  by  whose 
word  of  power  they  all  are  sustained,  as  by  it  they  were  created. 
In  reference  to  this  office  of  making  known  the  Father,  Paul 


574  The  Elolilm  Revealed.  [chap.  xix. 

tells  the  Colossians  that  the  Son  is  "  the  image  of  the  invisible 
God," — Col.  i.  15;  and  the  Hebrews  that  he  is  "the  brightness 
of  his  glory,  and  the  express  image  of  his  person," — Heb.  i.  3 ; 
and,  in  both  instances,  establishes  the  assertion  upon  the  ground 
that  he  is  the  Maker  of  all  things.  To  attempt  to  glance,  even, 
at  any  large  proportion  of  the  evidence  on  this  point,  which  is 
found  in  all  the  teachings  of  our  Saviour  himself,  is  impossible 
and  unnecessary.  When  the  Jews  persecuted  him  for  working 
a  miracle  on  the  Sabbath,  and  claiming  God  as  his  Father, 
thereby  making  himself  equal  with  God,  he  replied  to  them, 
"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  the  Son  can  do  nothing  of 
himself,  but  what  he  seeth  the  Father  do :  for  what  things 
soever  he  doeth,  these  also  doeth  the  Son  likewise." — John  v. 
19.  To  his  disciple  Philip,  asking  him  to  show  them  the 
Father,  he  says,  "  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet 
hast  thou  not  known  me,  Philip  ?  He  that  hath  seen  me  hath 
seen  the  Father ;  and  how  sayest  thou  then,  Show  us  the  Fa- 
ther ?" — John  xiv.  9.  He  tells  his  disciples,  "  All  things  that 
the  Father  hath  are  mine ;  therefore  said  I  that  he  [the  Com- 
forter] shall  take  of  mine,  and  shall  show  it  unto  you." — John 
xvi.  15.  And,  in  his  prayer  to  the  Father,  he  says,  "  I  have 
glorified  thee  on  the  earth  :  I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou 
gavest  me  to  do."  "  I  have  manifested  thy  name  unto  the  men 
which  thou  gavest  me." — John  xvii.  4,  6.  So  Paul  declares, 
that  "  great  is  the  mystery  of  godliness,  God  was  manifested  in 
the  flesh,  .  .  .  seen  of  angels." — 1  Tim.  iii.  16.  In  respect  to  the 
relation  of  the  work  of  Christ  to  the  angelic  hosts,  our  space 
will  not  permit  an  extended  discussion.  It  is,  however,  evident 
that  his  office  is  one  involving,  not  only  dominion  over  them, 
but  beneficent  purposes  toward  them,  and  that  the  scheme  of 
the  covenant  contemplated,  as  the  ultimate  end  had  in  view,  the 
revelation  of  God,  to  all  the  intelligent  creatures,  in  the  person 
and  work  of  Christ  his  Son. 

In  order  to  the  fulfilment  of  the  purposes  contemplated  in  his 
investiture  with  this  office,  it  was  necessary  that  Christ  should 
be,  not  only  the  Saviour  of  men,  but  the  Maker  of  all  things, 
the  Lord  of  Providence,  and  Head  over  all ;  as,  in  all  these,  the 


sect,  xi.]  The  Eternal  Covenant.  575 

glory  of  the  Godhead  shines.  It  was,  therefore,  requisite  that 
the  Son  should  be  placed  upon  the  throne,  in  the  midst  of  that 
same  eternity  in  which  the  covenant  was  made.  This,  indeed, 
is  implied  in  the  very  announcement  of  such  a  compact  between 
such  parties.  The  bounds  and  limitations  which  time  and  space, 
and  finite  intelligence,  set  to  the  conceptions  and  actions  of  men, 
have  no  application  to  Him  who  inhabits  eternity  and  immensity; 
alike  unlimited  by  either  of  those  dimensions.  To  the  holiness 
and  truth  of  God,  the  mutual  pledges  of  the  covenant  are  equi- 
valent to  their  fulfilment.  To  his  eternity,  the  work  of  Christ 
on  earth  was  from  everlasting  as  fully  present  in  its  whole  pro- 
cess and  completion,  as  when,  in  the  annals  of  time,  the  Son 
walked  among  men,  and  laboured  and  died.  The  throne  was, 
therefore,  possessed  by  the  Son,  from  the  sealing  of  the  compact; 
both  as  being  thus  a  matter  of  purchased  right,  and  as  his  in- 
stallation was  the  means,  contemplated  in  it,  for  the  fulfilling  of 
the  ends  of  the  covenant.  Hence,  the  declaration  of  Wisdom, 
in  the  book  of  Proverbs: — "I  was  set  up  from  everlasting,  from 
the  beginning  or  ever  the  earth  was." — Prov.  viii.  23.  As  we 
have  seen,  the  word,  "set  up,"  is  the  same  which  in  the  second 
Psalm  declares  the  coronation  of  the  Son: — "Yet  have  I  set  my 
king  upon  my  holy  hill." — Psalm  ii.  6.  The  transaction  is  the 
same.  And,  as  in  the  Psalm  the  date  is  fixed  by  coincidence 
with  the  birth  of  the  Son, — "this  day  have  I  begotten  thee," — 
so,  here,  they  are  associated,  and  together  dated  "from  ever- 
lasting." 

The  extent  of  the  field  embraced  in  the  purview  of  the  co- 
venant was  proportionate  to  the  dignity  of  the  parties,  and  the 
?  12.  its  pur-  grandeur  and  importance  of  the  objects.  Without 
view,  ail  things,  limitation  or  reserve,  it  comprehended  in  its  pro- 
visions all  things  in  the  universe.  Its  conditions  embraced 
every  creature  and  event;  all  time  and  eternity.  We  have 
already,  in  a  former  chapter,  considered  the  leading  features  of 
an  eternal  plan  according  to  which  God  has  seen  good  to  reveal 
himself  to  his  creatures.  The  covenant  was  the  means,  devised 
by  infinite  wisdom,  of  making  known  to  the  creatures  the  im- 
mutability of  the  council  embodied  in  that  plan;  and  of  securing 


57G  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xix. 

its  infallible  accomplishment.  The  provisions,  therefore,  are  co- 
extensive and  identical  with  the  features  of  the  plan;  and  their 
end  is  one  and  the  same, — the  revelation  of  God  to  his  intelligent 
creatures.  In  the  process  of  administration,  man  is  the  great 
centre  of  interest  and  action.  The  first  Adam,  the  image  of  God 
and  crown  of  the  creation,  enthroned  amid  the  joyous  shoutings 
of  the  sons  of  God;  and  his  apostasy  and  ruin; — the  second 
Adam,  the  Son  of  God  and  of  man,  the  brightness  of  the  Father's 
glory,  and  express  image  of  his  person;  his  eternal  generation; 
his  creation  of  all  things;  his  incarnation  and  death;  his  tri- 
umphant conflict  with  Satan;  his  exaltation  and  glory,  as  man 
swaying  the  sceptre  of  universal  empire,  and  receiving  the 
homage  of  every  knee  in  heaven  and  earth ;  the  general  judgment, 
where  the  man  Christ  Jesus  and  his  people  shall  sit,  and,  in  pre- 
sence of  the  universe,  determine  the  eternal  state  of  every  crea- 
ture, devils,  angels  and  reprobate  men;  and  the  final  and  eternal 
pre-eminence  of  man  in  the  persons  of  Christ  and  his  people ; — these 
are  the  grand  features  in  the  whole  amazing  scheme,  and  land- 
marks in  the  process  of  its  accomplishment.  Subservient  to  these 
are  all  other  creatures  and  events.  In  the  light  of  this  covenant, 
our  earth  is  the  great  centre  of  attraction  to  the  universe,  and 
the  high  throne  of  God's  revealed  glory.  The  material  universe, 
in  all  its  magnificence  and  starry  beauty,  is  but  a  chaplet,  to 
adorn  the  brow  of  that  Second  Man,  in  whose  unsearchable 
person  the  Maker  of  them  all  is  incarnate.  They  all  were  made 
by  him  and  for  him;  he  upholdeth  them  all  by  the  word  of  his 
power ;  and  in  him  they  consist.  The  angelic  throng, — creatures 
of  the  power,  and  dependent  upon  the  upholding  goodness,  of  the 
Son  of  man, — are  all  man's  servants,  ministering  spirits,  sent 
forth  to  minister  for  the  heirs  of  salvation;  and  students,  de- 
siring to  look  into,  and  comprehend,  the  mystery  of  God,  revealed 
in  the  persons  of  the  first  and  second  Adam  and  the  history  of 
man.  Man  was  the  prize,  for  whom  the  Son  of  God  left  his 
throne,  and  entered  the  lists  with  Satan  and  all  his  hosts;  and 
earth  was  its  scene.  And  when,  at  length,  the  mystery  of  God 
shall  be  finished,  and  the  Son  shall  have  triumphed  over  every 
foe, — when  he  shall  have  cast  Satan  and  death  and  hell  and  all 


sect,  xii.]  The  Eternal  Covenant.  577 

the  enemies  into  the  bottomless  pit,  and  sealed  the  door,  no  more 
to  be  opened,  because  there  is  no  more  curse, — when  he  shall 
have  rescued  from  the  grave  the  dust  of  his  people,  and  received 
them  to  his  own  glory, — when,  by  his  whole  wondrous  adminis- 
tration, he  shall  have  made  known  the  invisible  God,  to  the 
blessed  angelic  hosts,  in  all  the  glorious  symmetry  of  his  un- 
searchable perfections  and  unspeakable  grace,  and  shall  have 
established  them  in  perfect  holiness  and  infallible  allegiance, 
forever, — when  the  whole  scheme  of  the  covenant  shall  be  com- 
pleted, and  all  its  ends  accomplished,  and  the  Son,  accompanied 
by  all  the  angels  of  God,  shall  draw  near  the  throne,  to  deliver 
up  the  kingdom  to  God  even  the  Father, — the  redeemed  of  men 
will  be  the  attendants  nearest  his  person ;  and  the  child  of  Mary 
will  be  He,  the  attraction  of  every  eye,  his  beauties  the  delight 
of  every  heart,  and  the  lustre  of  his  deeds  the  theme  of  every 
tongue.  And  the  spontaneous  burst  of  rapturous  praise,  which 
will  pour  in  mingled  harmony  from  every  voice  and  harp  in 
heaven,  as  the  sound  of  mighty  thunderings,  and  as  the  sound 
of  many  waters,  will  extol  and  celebrate  the  glory  of  the  throne, 
and  majesty  of  the  kingdom,  of  the  Son  of  David,  the  Son  of 
man.  Nor,  in  all  the  blessed  and  adoring  throng,  are  there 
any  but  debtors  to  the  power  the  goodness  and  grace  of  Him 
whose  praise  they  celebrate.  "For  by  him  were  all  things 
created,  that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in  earth,  visible  and 
invisible,  whether  they  be  thrones,  or  dominions,  or  principalities, 
or  powers;  all  things  were  created  by  him  and  for  him;  and  he 
is  before  all  things,  and  by  him  all  things  consist.  And  he  is 
the  head  of  the  body,  the  church;  who  is  the  beginning,  the 
first  born  from  the  dead;  that  in  all  things  he  might  have  the 
pre-eminence.  For  it  pleased  the  Father  that  in  him  should  all 
fulness  dwell;  and,  having  made  peace  through  the  blood  of  his 
cross,  by  him  to  reconcile  all  things  unto  himself;  by  him,  I  say, 
whether  they  be  things  in  earth,  or  things  in  heaven." — Col.  i. 
16-20. 

37 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE   SECOND   ADAM. 

In  the  days  of  Herod,  the  king  of  Judea,  "the  angel  Gabriel 
was  sent  from  God  unto  a  city  of  Galilee,  named  Nazareth,  to  a 
gi.  Christ  was  virgin  espoused  to  a  man  whose  name  was  Joseph, 
truly  a  man.  of  the  house  of  David ;  and  the  virgin's  name  was 
Mary.  And  the  angel  came  in  unto  her,  and  said,  Hail,  thou 
that  art  highly  favoured,  the  Lord  is  with  thee :  blessed  art  thou 
among  women.  And  when  she  saw  him,  she  was  troubled  at  his 
saying,  and  cast  in  her  mind  what  manner  of  salutation  this 
should  be.  And  the  angel  said  unto  her,  Fear  not,  Mary,  for 
thou  hast  found  favour  with  God.  And  behold,  thou  shalt  con- 
ceive in  thy  womb,  and  bring  forth  a  son,  and  shalt  call  his  name 
Jesus.  He  shall  be  great,  and  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  the 
Highest;  and  the  Lord  God  shall  give  unto  him  the  throne  of 
his  father  David.  And  he  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob 
forever;  and  of  his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end.  Then  said 
Mary  unto  the  angel,  How  shall  this  be,  seeing  I  know  not  a 
man?  And  the  angel  answered  and  said  unto  her,  The  Holy 
Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  power  of  the  Highest  shall 
overshadow  thee :  therefore  also  that  holy  thing  which  shall  be 
born  of  thee  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God.  .  .  .  And  Mary 
said,  Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord:  be  it  unto  me  ac- 
cording to  thy  word.  And  the  angel  departed  from  her." — 
Luke  i.  26-38. 

The  Scriptures  are  very  particular  in  setting  forth  the  true 
and  proper  humanity  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  his  deriva- 
tion of  it,  by  a  true  generation,  from  the  common  nature  and 
parents  of  the  race.  In  the  original  promise,  he  is  described  as 
the  seed  of  the  woman.     In  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  he  is 

578 


sect,  i.]  The  Second  Adam,  579 

constantly  designated  as  his  seed.  In  the  oath  to  David,  the 
promise  is,  "I  will  set  up  thy  seed  after  thee,  which  shall  pro- 
ceed out  of  thy  bowels,  and  I  will  establish  his  kingdom." — 
2  Sam.  vii.  12.  Similar  is  the  language  of  Peter,  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost: — David  "knowing  that  God  had  sworn  with  an  oath 
to  him  that  of  the  fruit  of  his  loins,  according  to  the  flesh,  he 
would  raise  up  Christ  to  sit  on  his  throne." — Acts  ii.  30.  To 
the  same  purpose  are  the  genealogies  which  trace  his  lineage 
through  David  and  Abraham  back  to  Adam  the  father  of  the 
race,  and  the  woman,  to  whom  he  was  promised  as  her  seed. 
Nor  was  his  genealogy  thus  traced  merely  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  the  fulfilment  of  the  promises;  but  those  promises  were 
made  because  that  which  they  revealed  to  the  faith  of  God's 
people  was  essential  to  the  salvation  of  man.  None  but  a  child 
of  Adam  could  perform  the  work  which  was  laid  upon  the  Son 
of  God. 

The  fact,  however,  of  the  true  humanity  of  the  second  Adam, 
is  not  called  in  question,  and  need  not,  therefore,  be  insisted 
upon.  It  is  of  more  importance  that  we  understand  what  is 
meant  by  it,  and  involved  in  it.  The  subject  is  sometimes  dis- 
cussed in  such  a  manner  as  to  imply  that  all  that  is  involved  in 
the  humanity  of  the  Mediator,  is,  the  possession  of  body  and  soul 
in  the  likeness  of  man.  But  this  falls  entirely  short  of  the  truth 
in  the  case.  An  incarnate  angel  might  precisely  conform  to  the 
likeness  of  man.  He  might  be  possessed  of  precisely  the  same 
physical,  intellectual  and  moral  traits  and  attributes  which  cha- 
racterize our  race.  But  such  a  being  could  not  have  filled  the 
place  of  the  man,  Christ  Jesus,  in  the  Mediatorial  person  and 
work.  To  the  Mediator  two  duties  were  assigned,  both  of  which 
equally  required  him  to  be  a  true  shoot  from  the  stock  of  Adam. 
He  must  meet  and  satisfy  the  curse,  to  which,  by  the  fall,  man 
became  obnoxious ;  and  he  must  acquire  a  title  to  eternal  life,  by 
the  terms  of  the  very  covenant  which  Adam  violated. 
1 2.  The  Medi-  ^n  order  to  satisfy  the  curse  of  the  law  on  man's 
ator  must  be  a  behalf,  it  was  every  way  necessary  that  the  Mediator 
'"""•  should  be  a  partaker  of  man's  nature.     In  the  na- 

ture that  sinned  must  the  atonement  for  sin  be  made.     Since 


580  The  Elohhn  Revealed.  [chap.  xx. 

it  was  the  apostasy  of  man's  nature  which  had  incurred  the 
curse,  inexorable  justice  demands  satisfaction  against  that  very 
nature ;  and  he  who  will  meet  and  satisfy  the  curse,  must  appear 
at  the  bar  clothed  in  the  nature  which  is  thus  under  condemna- 
tion.* Further,  the  penalty  to  be  met  and  satisfied  was  of  a 
form  appropriate  to  man's  nature;  and  in  that  form  does  justice, 
which  knows  no  compromise,  demand  satisfaction. 

That  the  second  Adam  should  be  the  seed  of  the  first,  was 
equally  necessary  to  the  other  part  of  his  work, — his  acquiring 
a  covenant  right  to  eternal  life,  on  behalf  of  man.  The  trans- 
gression of  Adam  violated,  but  did  not  abrogate,  the  covenant. 
As  we  have  already  seen,  the  law  and  covenant,  as  originally 
given  to  man,  and  inscribed  on  his  heart,  were  inseparably  in- 
corporated with  each  other.  In  all  the  announcements  of  the 
law,  made  after  the  fall,  the  covenant  is  recognised  as  an  element 
in  the  document;  the  terms, — "The  man  that  doeth  them  shall 
live  in  them."  Not  only  so,  but  the  perfection  of  God's  wisdom, 
the  immutability  of  his  nature  and  law,  and  his  justice  and 
truth,  all  forbid  that  man  should  ever  possess  eternal  life  on  any 
other  than  the  precise  terms  at  first  proposed  to  him.  Those 
terms  were  in  alternative  form: — "Do,  and  live.  Transgress, 
and  die."  To  assume  that  man  may  ever  attain  to  life  upon  any 
other  conditions,  is  to  suppose  that  the  promise  of  this  covenant 
is  forfeited,  and  yet  its  curse  not  enforced.  And  this  would  be 
an  impeachment  of  every  attribute  of  the  divine  nature.  No 
favour  can  ever  be  possessed  by  man,  in  derogation  of  the  curse 

*  "  Hominem  verum  esse  oportuit,  ex  genere  humano  quod  peccavit  propaga- 
tuin,  non  ex  nihilo  creatum,  aut  ccelitus  delapsum,  quin  et  omnibus  infirmitati- 
bus  nostris  obnoxium,  peccato  excepto.  1.  Propter  justitiani  Dei,  quae  postu- 
labat  ut  eadem  natura  liumana,  quas  peccaverat,  pro  peccatis  lueret.  '  Anima 
enim  quge  peccavit,  ipsa  morietur.'  'Et  quocunque  die  comederis,  ex  eo,  morte 
morieris.'  Verus  igitur  homo  ex  posteritate  Adami  qui  peccavit,  pro  hominibus, 
quod  ab  ipsis  exigebatur,  dependere  debebat.  Hue  faciunt  dicta :  '  Quia  per  ho- 
minem mors,  per  hominem  resurrectio  mortuorum.'  '  Unus  Mediator  Dei  et  homi- 
num,  homo  Christus  Jesus.'  'Assumpsit  semen  Abrahse,  unde  debuit  per  omnia 
fratribus  similis  fieri,'  &c.  Ideo  apostolus  dicit  nos  esse  consepultos  Christo  per 
baptismum,  et  cum  Christo  resurrexisse.  Augustinus  De  Vera  Religione, — '  Ipsa 
natura  suscipienda,  quse  liberanda.' " — Corp.  Doct.  Chr.,  etc.,  Ex  ore  D.  Zach. 
Ursinse,  in  expl.  Catech.  xvi.  2. 


sect,  ii.]  The  Second  Adam.  581 

of  the  covenant;  nor  in  any  way,  which  does  not  fulfil  its  terms. 
They  were  the  conditions,  upon  which  God  at  the  beginning  sus- 
pended his  favour  to  man;  and  "he  is  in  one  mind,  and  who  can 
turn  him?"  Christ's  headship  was  created  by  the  eternal  cove- 
nant. But  the  condition  of  that  covenant  and  headship  was  the 
fulfilment  of  all  the  provisions  and  terms  of  the  covenant  made 
with  Adam.  Here  we  have  the  key  to  the  fact  that  the  law  of 
God,  as  proclaimed  from  Sinai,  was  set  forth  specifically  in  cove- 
nant form;  and,  as  such,  identified  with  the  covenant  made  with 
Abraham.  Thus  Moses  says  to  Israel,  "The  Lord  our  God 
made  a  covenant  with  us  in  Horeb;"  and  then  recites  the  ten 
commandments  as  the  terms  of  that  covenant.  (Deut.  v.  2-21.) 
The  tables  of  stone  on  which  the  commandments  were  written, 
are  thence  called  the  tables  of  the  covenant;  (Deut.  ix.  9-11,  15;) 
and  the  coffer  in  which  they  were  kept,  "the  ark  of  the  cove- 
nant." (Deut.  x.  3,  4,  8.)  Says  God,  by  Jeremiah,  "Behold 
the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will  make  a  new  covenant 
with  the  house  of  Israel,  and  with  the  house  of  Judah ;  not  ac- 
cording to  the  covenant  that  I  made  with  their  fathers,  in  the 
day  that  I  took  them  by  the  hand  to  bring  them  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt;  which  my  covenant  they  brake,  although  I  was  a 
husband  unto  them,  saith  the  Lord." — Jer.  xxxi.  31,  32.  In 
short,  the  covenant  character  of  that  announcement  of  the  law 
is  continually  insisted  upon  in  the  Scriptures,  and  does  not  admit 
of  question.  Nor  does  this  remark  apply  merely  to  the  moral 
law,  but  with  equal  emphasis  to  the  whole  ceremonial  ritual  of 
Moses;  which,  as  well  in  its  whole  scope,  as  in  each  particular 
of  its  details,  proclaims  covenant  relations  between  Israel  and 
God, — relations  of  favour,  conditioned  upon  the  fundamental 
principle  of  the  law  of  nature,  that  is,  obedience.  Further,  the 
Sinai  covenant  is  set  forth  as  the  same  which  was  made  with  the 
patriarchs,  the  fathers  of  Israel.  "It  shall  come  to  pass,"  says 
Moses,  "if  ye  hearken  to  these  judgments,  and  keep  and  do 
them,  that  the  Lord  thy  God  shall  keep  unto  thee  the  covenant 
and  the  mercy  which  he  sware  unto  thy  fathers :  and  he  will 
love  thee,  and  bless  thee,  and  multiply  thee;  .  .  .  thou  shalt  be 
blessed  above  all  people." — Deut.  vii.  12-14.     Obedience  to  the 


582  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xx. 

law  is  thus  made  to  Israel  the  condition,  on  which,  the  promises 
given  to  Abraham,  should  be  fulfilled.  The  law,  then,  was  the 
conditional  term  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant.  This  is  expressly 
intimated  by  Jehovah,  when  he  says  of  Abraham,  "I  know 
him,  that  he  will  command  his  children  and  his  household  after 
him,  and  they  shall  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord,  to  do  justice  and 
judgment;  that  the  Lord  may  bring  upon  Abraham  that  which 
he  hath  spoken  of  him." — Gen.  xviii.  19.  That  memorable  trial 
of  Abraham's  faith,  in  which  he  was  required  to  sacrifice  his  son, 
was  a  signal  announcement  of  the  fundamental  relation  which 
the  law  sustained  to  the  covenant.  Not  only  did  it  prove  and 
render  illustrious  the  faith  of  the  patriarch;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  proclaimed  implicit,  unquestioning  and  perfect  obedience 
to  be  the  condition  of  the  promise.  And  the  fact  'that  neither 
Israel  nor  Abraham  could  possibly  acquire  a  title  to  the  promises, 
for  themselves,  on  such  terms,  only  renders  the  more  manifest 
the  design  of  all  these  transactions  as  bearing  upon  the  coming 
and  work  of  the  Son  of  God.  They  announce  the  covenant  as 
surviving  the  fall,  in  the  unimpaired  integrity  of  its  terms. 
They  point  to  that  Seed,  to  whom  the  promise  of  Sinai,  as  well 
as  those  to  Abraham,  was  made,  and  in  whom  all  the  terms  of 
the  covenant  shall  be  fulfilled.  It  was,  therefore,  necessary  that 
the  Mediator  should  assume  the  very  nature,  to  which  the  co- 
venant law  was  addressed,  and  in  which  it  was  inscribed;  so  as 
to  be  in  a  position  to  claim  the  life  therein  promised,  upon  per- 
forming the  conditions  prescribed.  He  must  not  only  be  like 
Adam,  in  the  endowments  of  his  person,  and  the  inscription  in 
his  heart;  but  of  him,  to  whom  the  law  was  addressed,  and  the 
covenant  given;  so  that  he  might  obey  the  very  mandate  thus 
given;  and  enjoy  the  very  promise  which  Adam  received. 

Accordingly,  the  Scriptures  not  only  insist  upon  the  fact  that 
the  Redeemer  was  a  man.  This  they  rather  assume  than  form- 
ally assert.  But,  going  beyond  this,  they  lay  much  stress  upon 
the  derivation  of  his  human  nature  and  person  from  the  common 
fountain  of  the  race.  Hence,  the  terms  used  on  the  subject  are 
commonly  such  as  give  emphasis  to  the  paternal  relation  of 
Adam  and  the  other  ancestors  of  the  Redeemer,  as  the  cause  of 


sect,  ii.]  The  Second  Adam.  583 

his  humanity, — such  as  express  his  native  inbeing  in  them. 
Thus,  as  we  have  seen,  he  is  constantly  called  the  seed  of  Adam, 
of  Abraham  and  of  David.  He  is  represented  as  proceeding 
out  of  the  bowels  of  these  patriarchs ;  is  called  "  a  rod  out  of 
the  stem  of  Jesse,  and  a  branch  out  of  his  roots;"  and  is  pre- 
dicted by  the  name,  The  Branch.  (Isa.  xi.  1 ;  Zech.  iii.  8). 
The  title  by  which  Jesus  designates  himself  is  equally  significant 
on  this  subject.  He  does  not  call  himself,  the  man,  or,  the  man 
from  heaven ;  but,  the  "  Son  of  Man."  This  name  he  applies 
to  himself  continually.  And,  even  when  adjured  by  the  high 
priest  whether  he  was  the  Son  of  God,  in  his  affirmative  answer 
he  remarkably  includes  the  name  significant  of  his  human  rela- 
tions. "Art  thou  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  Blessed?  And 
Jesus  said,  I  am :  and  ye  shall  see  the  Son  of  Man  sitting  on  the 
right  hand  of  power,  and  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven." — 
Mark  xiv.  61,  62. 

The  design  of  the  Mediator,  in  assuming  such  a  relation  to  us, 
Paul  states  : — "  When  the  fulness  of  the  time  was  come,  God  sent 
§  3.  Scripture  forth  his  Son,  (ysvofjisvop,)  born  of  a  woman,  born  under 
testimony.  the  law,  to  redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law, 
that  we  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons." — Gal.  iv.  4,  5.  In 
the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  the  same  view  is  presented.  The 
dominion  which  was  given  to  man  is  represented  as  realized  in 
the  person  of  Jesus.  His  assumption  of  humanity  was  in  order 
"  that  he  by  the  grace  of  God  might  taste  death  for  every  man." 
The  sufferings  by  means  of  which  he  will  bring  many  sons  to 
glory,  are  referred  to  the  fact,  that  "  both  he  that  sanctifieth,  and 
they  who  are  sanctified,  are  all  (ig  Ivoc)  from  one;"  to  wit, 
Adam ;  "  for  which  cause  he  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  breth- 
ren." The  apostle  then  appeals  to  the  scriptures  which  assert 
a  relation  of  kindred  between  Christ  and  his  people: — "I  will 
declare  thy  name  unto  my  brethren;"  and,  "Behold  I  and  the 
children  which  God  hath  given  me."  Hence  he  argues  that, 
"  forasmuch  as  the  children  (xexocva>vyxe)  are  communicants,  or 
joint  partakers  in  flesh  and  blood,  he  also,  {itapoathjaiaz  ftsria^e,) 
in  the  same  manner,  took  part  in  them ;  that  through  death  he 
might  destroy  him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil ; 


584  The  Eloltim  Revealed.  [chap.  xx. 

and  deliver  them  who  through,  fear  of  death  were  all  their  life- 
time  subject  to  bondage.  For,  verily,  (ob  dyyifoov  indapftdveTac,) 
he  does  not  take  [into  union  with  himself]  the  angels ;  but  he  takes 
the  seed  of  Abraham.  Wherefore  in  all  things  it  behooved  him  to 
be  made  like  unto  his  brethren,  that  he  might  be  a  merciful  and 
faithful  high  priest." — Heb.  ii.  14-17.  The  same  principle  is 
presented  by  the  apostle  when  he  says  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection,  "  Now  is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead,  and  become 
the  first  fruits  of  them  that  slept.  For  since  by  man  came  death, 
by  man  came  also  the  resurrection  of  the  dead." — 1  Cor.  xv. 
20,  21.  In  the  nature  that  incurred  death  must  death  be 
met  and  vanquished. 

Of  the  assumption  of  humanity  by  the  Son  of  Cod,  Paul  tells 
the  Philippians  that  he  "(iv  popprj  6eou  bndpyiov) ,  being  at  first  in 
the  nature  of  God,  did  not  think  the  being  as  God  (apnaypov)  a 
thing  to  be  eagerly  retained ;  but  emptied  himself,  taking  Qjiop<p9jv 
douXou)  the  nature  of  a  servant,  being  born  in  the  likeness  of 
man ;  and,  being  found  in  attitude  and  condition  as  a  man,  he 
humbled  himself,  becoming  obedient  until  death,  even  the  death 
of  the  cross." — Phil.  ii.  6-8.  That  the  word,  (poppy,)  "  form," 
means  much  more  than  a  mere  external  likeness,  is  certain,  from 
several  considerations.  1.  That  "form"  with  which  the  Son  is 
said  to  have  been  at  first  invested,  he  is  not  represented  ever  to 
have  resigned.  That  of  which  he  emptied  himself  was  not 
(poppy  6eou)  "  the  form  of  God,"  but  the  being  (laa  6eco)  "  as 
God."  And  his  possession  of  the  likeness  of  man  was  conse- 
quent upon  and  subordinate  to  his  assumption  of  (poppyv  douXoo) 
"  the  form  of  a  servant."  Did  (poppy),  form,  mean  no  more 
than  an  image  or  likeness,  there  would  be  no  propriety  in  the 
change  of  terms  thus  occurring.  Having  been  announced  as 
clothed  with  the  form  of  God,  his  humiliation  would  have  been 
described  as  the  resignation  of  that  form ;  and  his  assumption  of 
the  form  of  a  servant  would  not  have  been  stated  as  something: 
distinct  from  his  being  made  in  the  likeness  of  man.  Evidently, 
the  being  (laa  deco)  as  God,  and,  (in  bpoubpazc  dvdpayxtov^)  in  the 
likeness  of  man,  are  stated  as  particulars  under  the  more  exten- 
sive meaning  of  the  word,  (poppy),  form.     It  was  because  he 


sect,  in.]  The  Second  Adam.  585 

was  originally  "in  the  form  of  God,"  that  he  was  "as  God;" 
and,  by  taking  upon  him  the  "form  of  a  servant,"  he  acquired 
the  likeness  of  man.  2.  If  the  word,  "form,"  is  to  be  inter- 
preted as  meaning  the  likeness  of  God,  it  will  admit  of  no  tole- 
rable explanation  which  does  not  involve  the  possession  of  attri- 
butes like  those  of  God.  But  the  likeness  of  the  Son  to  the 
Father  consists  in  the  possession  of  the  very  same  incommuni- 
cable attributes.  In  this  sense,  the  form  of  God  is  equivalent 
to  the  possession  of  a  community  of  nature  with  God.  3.  Paul 
is  magnifying  the  condescension  of  Christ,  as  an  example  for  us. 
But  his  condescension  consisted  in  the  fact  that  he,  being  truly 
God,  laid  not  aside  his  divine  nature,  but  the  robes  of  divinity, 
and  assumed  not  the  mere  form  and  semblance  of  a  man,  but  a 
true  manhood,  in  the  person  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Should  any 
one  aim  to  celebrate  the  condescension  of  the  emperor  Charles, 
by  dwelling  on  the  fact  that  he  laid  aside  the  robes  of  royalty, 
and  assumed  the  style  of  a  subject ;  and  altogether  ignore  the 
more  important  matter  that  he  actually  became  a  private  person, 
— it  would  be  very  weak  and  absurd.  Yet,  such  will  be  the 
argument  of  Paul,  if  we  deny  him  to  speak  of  the  divine  nature, 
which  was  native  to  the  Son  of  God,  and  which  he  condescended 
to  veil,  by  a  real  assumption  of  the  nature  of  man.  By  the 
word,  (/jiofxpTj) ,  form,  therefore,  we  understand  all  that  is  expressed 
by  (Jaa  and  0/j.ouo/ia^  equality  and  likeness,  but  including  the 
nature  and  attributes  upon  which  those  expressions  are  based. 
As  applied  to  God,  it  denotes  the  divine  essence,  clothed  with  all 
glorious  attributes  and  perfections.  As  appropriated  to  man,  it 
indicates  the  nature,  person,  attributes  and  relations  of  a  true 
humanity.*  The  argument,  therefore,  of  the  apostle  is  this: — 
"  Christ,  being  invested  with  the  nature,  attributes  and  honour  of 
eternal  Godhead,  did  not  think  the  being  arrayed  in  glory  as 
God,  a  thing  to  be  eagerly  retained ;  but  emptied  himself,  taking 
the  nature,  person  and  condition  of  a  servant ;  and  was  born  in  the 

*  "  Mop0/)  denotat  essentiam  Dei,  non  nudam,  sed  suis  vestitam  qualitatibus, 
et  proprietatibus  essentialibus,  gloria,  ruajestate,  etc.;  quomodo  et  naturam  huma- 
nam  cum  suis  quoque  qualitatibus  consideratam." — Zanchius,  in  Poll  Synopsis, 
in  loco. 


586  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xx. 

likeness  of  man.  And,  being  found  in  the  attitude  and  position 
of  a  man,  subject  to  the  law,  he  humbled  himself,  being  obedient 
until  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross."  He  took  to  himself 
the  nature  and  condition  of  a  servant,  as,  from  being  the  Law- 
giver, he  became  subject  to  the  law;  which  is  further  intimated 
by  the  statement  that  he  was  found, — to  wit,  by  the  law  and  justice 
of  God, — in  the  attitude  of  a  man,  as  toward  it;  and  was  obedient 
to  the  law  and  the  curse  until  death.  So,  the  prophet  writes, 
"By  his  knowledge  shall  my  righteous  servant  justify  many; 
for  he  shall  bear  their  iniquities." — Isa.  liii.  11.  He  became  a 
servant  to  the  law  and  the  curse,  by  taking  to  himself  the  nature 
of  man,  which  was  under  their  bondage.  "He  was  found 
(cr%rj flare  cbq  a.vd fttoTioz)  in  fashion  as  a  man."  The  word,  (ayr^fta), 
fashion,  expresses  rather  condition  and  attitude,  than  appearance. 
He  was  found  in  the  position,  as  toward  the  law,  which  belonged 
to  man,  subject  to  its  precept,  and  responsible  to,  and  involved 
in,  its  curse.  And,  being  thus  found  by  the  law,  he,  as  a  man, 
bowed  in  perfect  obedience  to  all  its  requirements,  until  it  had 
nailed  him  to  the  cross,  under  the  curse  of  man's  sin. 

In  addition  to  the  reasons  already  given,  there  were  others,  of 
which  we  shall  see  more  in  the  sequel,  making  it  requisite  that 
the  Redeemer  should  take  a  part  in  our  nature.  It  was  neces- 
sary in  order  to  the  mystical  union,  by  which  he  assumed  the 
punishment  of  our  sins,  and  gives  us  a  title  in  his  righteousness, 
as  we  have  seen  Paul  to  declare: — "Forasmuch  as  the  children 
were  joint  partakers  in  flesh  and  blood,  he  also  in  the  same  man- 
ner took  part  in  them,  that  through  death  he  might  destroy  him 
that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil ;  and  deliver  them 
who,  through  fear  of  death,  were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to 
bondage.  For  verily,  he  does  not  take  hold  of  the  angels,  (or, 
take  them  to  himself,)  but  he  takes  the  seed  of  Abraham." — Heb. 
ii.  14r-16.  This  language  seems  plainly  to  refer  to  that  assump- 
tion of  the  seed  of  Abraham  into  union  with  himself,  of  which 
we  shall  presently  speak.  Christ's  humanity  was  necessary,  so 
that  he  might  be  to  us  a  quickening  spirit,  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
dwelling  in  his  mediatorial  person,  and  imparted  thence;  and 
that  he  might  have  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  by  being  in  all 


sect,  in.]  The  Second  Adam.  587 

points  tempted  like  as  we  are ;  so  that  we  might  have  confidence 
and  access  with  boldness  unto  the  throne  of  grace.  It  was  ne- 
cessary that,  in  the  very  nature,  by  taking  advantage  of  the 
weakness  of  which,  Satan  hoped  to  defeat  the  purposes  of  God, 
the  enemy  himself  should  be  overthrown.  Thus  is  he  put  to 
utter  confusion .  and  shame,  upon  his  chosen  field  of  anticipated 
triumphs. 

Whilst  the  Son  of  God  took  to  himself  the  nature  of  man,  by 
which  the  apostasy  was  wrought,  and  which  lay  under  the  curse 
I  4.  He  icas  of  the  apostasy,  he  did  not  assume  it  as  apostate. 
without  sin.  Jn  taking  the  human  into  union  with  his  divine  na- 
ture, he  received  it  in  perfect  holiness  and  conformity  to  the  law. 
This  was  a  necessary  result  of  the  remarkable  manner  of  his 
birth: — "The  Holy  Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  power 
of  the  Highest  shall  overshadow  thee :  therefore  that  holy  thing 
which  shall  be  born  of  thee  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God." 
Here  the  angel  attributes  the  unsullied  purity  and  holiness  of 
the  child  to  the  overshadowing  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The 
hypostatic  union  of  the  divine  and  human  natures,  in  the  person 
of  the  Mediator,  was  not  wrought  by  the  Holy  Spirit ;  but  is  im- 
mediate, and  consequent  upon  the  immediate  power  of  the  Second 
Person  of  the  Godhead  taking  up  the  human  nature  into  union 
with  his  own.  Were  it  otherwise, — were  the  union  one  wrought 
by  the  mediate  agency  of  the  Spirit, — the  result  would  be,  not 
one  person,  but  two;  not  a  hypostatic,  but  a  relative,  union. 
The  only  office,  therefore,  which  can  be  attributed  to  the  Holy 
Spirit,  in  the  incarnation  of  the  Son,  was  the  generation  of  a 
body  and  soul,  out  of  the  human  nature  of  the  virgin,  free  from 
sin: — "Christ  the  Son  of  God  became  man  by  taking  to  himself 
a  true  body  and  a  reasonable  soul,  being  conceived,  by  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  the  womb  of  the  virgin  Mary,  of  her  sub- 
stance, and  born  of  her,  yet  without  sin."*  On  this  subject, 
Marck,  having  stated  the  conveyance  of  original  sin  by  genera- 
tion, says,  "Nor  must  Christ,  therefore,  be  subject  to  its  guilt; 
not  because  he  never  was  in  Adam,  as  the  Anabaptists  and  Wei- 
gelians  imagine;  since  his  genealogy  is  expressly  terminated  in 

*  Larger  Catechism,  Qu.  37. 


588  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  xx. 

Adam,  (Luke  iii.  38) ;  but,  first,  because  he  was  not  propagated 
from  Adam  as  to  his  whole  person, — for,  as  we  commonly  say, 
sins  are  personals, — but  only  as  to  his  humanity,  and  that,  mani- 
festly, by  an  extraordinary  and  supernatural  nativity;  where- 
fore, also,  he  was  not  tithed  in  the  loins  of  Levi.  (Heb.  vii.  9, 
10.)  Second,  strictly,  he  was  not  in  Adam  when  he  sinned,  be- 
cause he  came  into  the  world,  not  by  virtue  of  the  blessing  given 
before  the  fall, — 'Be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  replenish  the 
earth,'  (Gen.  i.  28), — but  by  the  special  promise,  following  the 
fall,  concerning  the  seed  of  the  woman,  which  should  bruise  the 
head  of  the  serpent.     (Gen.  iii.  15.)"* 

Whilst  it  was  necessary  that  the  Mediator  be  thus  truly  man, 
having  a  proper  communion  in  our  nature,  this  was  not  alone 
?  5.  He  is  the  sufficient.  No  man — no  finite  being — could  perform 
mighty  God.  the  work  to  which  he  was  ordained: — "Unto  us  a 
child  is  born ;  unto  us  a  son  is  given :  and  the  government  shall 
be  upon  his  shoulder ;  and  his  name  shall  be  called,  Wonderful, 
Counsellor,  the  Mighty  God,  the  Everlasting  Father,  the  Prince 
of  Peace." — Isa.  ix.  6.  Such  are  the  titles  by  which  he  is  an- 
nounced. And,  when  he  was  about  to  come  into  the  world,  he 
is  described,  by  the  evangelist,  as  "  Emmanuel, — God  with  us." 
As  to  the  fact  of  the  divinity  of  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  we 
shall  not  enter  into  a  separate  discussion.  If  the  cumulative 
argument,  which  is  presented  in  the  whole  doctrine  of  this  work, 
be  not  conclusive,  on  this  point,  we  should  despair  of  inducing 
conviction  by  a  special  plea.  That  the  Mediator  between  God 
and  apostate  man  must  himself  be  God,  is  certain,  from  every 
light  in  which  the  subject  can  be  viewed.  To  no  one  function 
of  the  mediatorial  work  would  any  mere  creature,  even  the 
highest,  be  adequate.  Two  or  three  points  may  for  the  present 
serve  to  illustrate  the  whole. 

It  was  essential  that  the  Mediator  should  be  superior  to  and 
independent  of  the  law,  in  order  that,  by  a  voluntary  subjection 
to  it,  he  might  restore  that  honour  which  was  taken  away  by 
man's  transgression.  This  the  obedience  of  no  mere  creature 
could  do.     Having  done  all,  the  creatures  must  say,  "We  have 

*  Marckii  Medul.  Theol.,  Locus  vi.  37. 


sect,  iv.]  The  Second  Adam.  589 

done  what  was  our  duty  to  do."  But  when  the  eternal  Son  of 
God,  having  perfectly  obeyed  every  precept  of  the  law,  bows  his 
neck  to  the  stroke  of  its  curse,  then  is  its  honour  more  than  re- 
stored.    It  shines  with  a  lustre  which  it  never  had  before. 

Equally  requisite  was  the  divinity  of  Christ,  in  order  that  he 
might  have  power  over  his  own  life.  The  lives  of  the  creatures 
are  gifts  of  God's  goodness,  which  are  merely  loaned,  to  be  em- 
ployed at  his  will  and  in  his  service.  They  have  no  right  either 
to  forfeit  or  surrender  them ;  as,  in  so  doing,  they  are  at- 
tempting to  alienate  what  belongs  to  God,  and  so  are  robbing 
him.  And,  were  this  not  so,  still  would  they  be  incompetent  to 
acquire  any  merit  available  to  others,  even  by  the  sacrifice  of 
life ;  since,  having  done  all,  they  have  but  done  their  own  duty. 
In  order,  therefore,  that  the  eternal  Priest  should  have  a  right  to 
give  his  own  life,  he  must  have  a  supreme  and  absolute  right  in 
that  life  himself,  and  such  an  independence  of  the  law  that  his 
offering  shall  be  gratuitous,  and  therefore  meritorious. 

It  was  necessary  that  Christ  should  be  God,  as  well  as  man, 
in  order  that,  in  the  mediatorial  person,  there-  should  be  power 
to  meet  and  exhaust  the  infinite  curse  of  the  law  which  was 
due  to  man's  sin.  This  is  the  reason  that,  in  all  the  teachings 
of  the  New  Testament,  so  much  significance  is  attributed  to  his 
resurrection.  Having  assumed  the  punishment  of  his  people's 
sins,  and,  under  it,  bowed  to  the  stroke  of  the  curse,  it  was  im- 
possible that  he  should  have  risen  from  the  dead  until  the  curse 
thus  accepted  had  exhausted  its  demands, — until  death  itself 
expired.  And  since  this  could  never  take  place  in  the  person  of 
any  merely  human  or  created  being,  the  curse  being  infinite,  it 
was  necessary  that  he  who  undertook  such  an  office  should  be 
truly  divine;  and  the  fact  that  "  Christ  both  died  and  rose  and 
revived," — inasmuch  as  it  shows  him  to  have  worn  out  and 
abolished  death, — proves  him  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  with  power, 
the  very  power  of  the  infinite  God. 

The  divinity  of  the  Redeemer  was  equally  requisite  to  the 
application  of  his  redemption,  and  to  all  the  ultimate  ends  for 
which  it  was  undertaken.  No  one  but  the  Omniscient  could 
know  his  own  so  that  none  of  them  should  be  lost.     None  but 


590  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap.  xx. 

God  could  have  power  to  send  the  Holy  Spirit  to  renew,  sanctify 
and  raise  them  from  the  dead.  None  but  the  Almighty  could 
overcome  with  utter  overthrow  Satan  and  all  God's  enemies, 
judge  the  universe,  and  assign  to  each  their  appropriate  place 
and  portion. 

But  we  have  not  yet  noticed  all  the  wonderful  characteristics 
of  the  second  Adam.  The  person  of  Jesus,  which  embraces  thus, 
?  6  Christ*  ^n  an  incomprehensible  union  and  identity  with  the 
body  the  son  of  Mary,  Him  who  fills  immensity  and  inhabits 

church.  eternity,  comprehends  at  the  same  time,  in  a  union 

and  identity  only  less  close  than  this,  the  whole  multitude  of  his 
chosen  people  of  all  ages,  whether  past  or  to  come.  He  is  the 
head  of  the  body,  the  church,  "  the  fulness  of  him  that  filleth  all 
in  all."— Eph.  i.  23. 

It  would  be  a  most  unsuitable  and  defective  representation, 
which  should  describe  the  human  head  in  such  a  way  as  to 
leave  out  of  the  account  the  body  with  which  it  is  connected, 
and  the  relations  between  them;  since  in  these  relations 
is  the  solution  of  almost  every  feature  of  the  head.  Equally 
inadequate  and  erroneous  is  any  view  of  the  person  of  the 
Mediator  which  fails  to  comprehend,  as  essential  features  of  it, 
the  church,  which  is  his  body,  and  the  union  by  which  they  are 
one.  To  fit  him  to  become  the  Head  of  that  body,  every  cha- 
racteristic of  his  person  was  designed.  And,  as  thus  fitted  and 
related,  every  fact  in  his  history  is  to  be  studied,  or  it  will  not 
be  understood.  In  no  one  aspect  can  the  Mediator  be  viewed 
in  which  the  ignoring  of  his  headship  will  not  mar  the  concep- 
tion. The  significance  of  every  feature  is  to  be  sought  in  his 
church.  It  is  the  complement  of  his  own  individual  person, — 
the  fulness  which  completes  and  reveals  its  symmetry. 

The  reality  and  importance  of  the  union,  by  which  Christ  and 
his  people  are  one  body,  is  testified  in  the  Scriptures,  in  many 
places,  and  illustrated  by  a  variety  of  figures.  Of  these,  it  will 
be  sufficient  to  notice  some  of  the  most  frequent  and  significant. 

1.  It  is  compared  to  the  stones  of  a  building,  which  are  all 
cemented  together  into  one ;  and  in  which  Christ  is  represented 
by  the  corner-stone,  as  being  that  on  which  all  rests  secure. 


sect,  v.]  The  Second  Adam.  591 

Says  the  Psalmist,  "The  stone  which  the  builders  refused  is 
become  the  head-stone  of  the  corner;"  that  is,  the  chief  stone 
of  the  foundation. — Psalm  cxviii.  22.  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord 
God,  Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion,  for  a  foundation,  a  stone,  a  tried 
stone,  a  precious  corner-stone,  a  sure  foundation." — Isa.  xxviii. 
16.  Hence  Peter  says,  of  Christ,  "  To  whom  coming,  as  unto  a 
living  stone,  disallowed  indeed  of  men,  but  chosen  of  God,  and 
precious,  ye  also  as  lively  stones  are  built  up,  a  spiritual  house, 
a  holy  priesthood  to  offer  up  spiritual  sacrifices,  acceptable  to 
God,  by  Jesus  Christ." — 1  Pet.  ii.  4,  5.  And  Paul  says  that  the 
saints  are  "  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  pro- 
phets, Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone ;  in 
whom  all  the  building  fitly  framed  together  groweth  unto  a  holy 
temple  in  the  Lord  ;  in  whom  ye  also  are  builded  together  for  a 
habitation  of  God,  through  the  Spirit."— Eph.  ii.  20-22.  To 
David,  the  promise  was  made  that  his  son  should  build  a  house 
to  the  name  of  God.  The  spiritual  temple,  here  described,  is 
that  house. 

2.  Another  figure,  frequently  used  to  describe  the  relation  of 
Christ  and  his  people,  is  that  of  a  tree  and  its  branches.  "I  am 
the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches.  He  that  abideth  in  me,  and  I  in 
him,  the  same  bringeth  forth  much  fruit;  for  severed  from  me 
ye  can  do  nothing." — John  xv.  5.  Hence  Paul  exhorts  us, 
"As  ye  have  received  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  so  walk  ye  in  him; 
rooted  and  built  up  in  him." — Col.  ii.  6,  7.  He  describes  believers 
as  "planted  together  in  the  likeness  of  his  death," — Rom.  vi.  5; 
and  represents  the  whole  human  race  as  branches  of  the  one  or 
the  other, — the  wild  olive,  or  the  good. — Rom.  xi.  17-24. 

3.  The  union  is  compared  to  that  of  the  wife  and  her  husband; 
and  of  the  members  of  the  body; — figures  which  are  essentially 
the  same,  as  is  fully  illustrated  in  the  argument  of  Paul,  in  Eph. 
v.  23-32 : — "  The  husband  is  the  head  of  the  wife,  even  as  Christ 
is  the  Head  of  the  church;  and  he  is  the  Saviour  of  the  body." 
"So  ought  men  to  love  their  wives  as  their  own  bodies.  He 
that  loveth  his  wife  loveth  himself.  For  no  man  ever  yet  hated 
his  own  flesh ;  but  nourisheth  and  cherisheth  it,  even  as  the  Lord 
the  church;  for  we  are  members  of  his  bodv,  of  his  flesh  and  of 


592  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xx. 

his  bones.  For  this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  mo- 
ther, and  shall  be  joined  unto  his  wife,  and  they  two  shall  be 
one  flesh.  This  is  a  great  mystery;  but  I  speak  concerning 
Christ  and  the  church."  When  God  made  Eve  of  a  rib  from 
the  side  of  Adam,  and  brought  her  to  him,  Adam  said,  "This 
is  now  bone  of  my  bone,  and  flesh  of  my  flesh;  she  shall  be 
called  woman,  because  she  was  taken  out  of  man.  Therefore 
shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  his  mother,"  &c. — Gen.  ii.  23,  24. 
How  intimate  the  union,  of  which  the  apostle  speaks,  between 
Christ  and  his  people,  is  evident  from  the  appeal  which  he  makes 
to  this  original  oneness  of  Adam,  and  identity  of  Eve  in  him. 
This  figure,  derived  from  the  marriage  of  the  first  Adam,  is  the 
one  most  commonly  used  in  the  Scriptures  on  the  present  subject. 
It  is  the  subject  of  the  forty-fifth  Psalm.  It  constitutes  the 
theme  of  one  entire  book, — The  Song  of  Songs.  It  recurs  con- 
tinually in  the  prophets  and  epistles,  and  sheds  a  soft  and  radiant 
beauty  on  the  imagery  of  the  book  of  the  Revelation ;  in  which 
are  unfolded  the  glories  of  the  final  inheritance  of  Christ  and 
his  people, — the  second  Adam  and  his  Bride. 

4.  The  unity  of  Adam  and  his  race  is  used  as  another  repre- 
sentation of  that  here  spoken  of.  Of  this,  the  preceding  pages 
have  presented  abundant  illustrations.  "  If  any  should  urge 
that  the  similitudes  of  Adam  and  his  seed,  and  of  married 
couples,  do  make  rather  for  a  relative,  than  a  real  union,  betwixt 
Christ  and  us ;  let  them  consider  that  all  nations  are  really  made 
of  one  blood,  which  was  first  in  Adam,  (Acts  xvii.  26 ;)  and  that 
the  first  woman  was  made  out  of  the  body  of  Adam,  and  was 
really  'bone  of  his  bone,  and  flesh  of  his  flesh.'  And  by  this 
first  married  couple,  the  mystical  union  of  Christ  and  his  church 
is  eminently  resembled.  (Gen.  ii.  22-24,  with  Eph.  v.  30-32.) 
And  yet,  it  supposeth  both  these  resemblances  in  the  nearness 
and  fulness  of  them,  because  those  that  are  joined  to  the  Lord 
are  not  only  one  flesh,  but  one  spirit,  with  him."* 

5.  The  transcendent  comparison,  which  is  used  on  this  sub- 
ject, is  that  of  the  union  of  the  Father,  and  the  Son,  in  the 
blessed  Godhead.     When  seated  at  the  table,  the  night  in  which 

*  Marshall  on  Sanctification,  Direction  iii.  2. 


sect,  vi.]  The  Secmid  Adam.  593 

he  was  betrayed,  the  Saviour  engaged  in  a  large  discourse  with 
his  disciples.  In  his  previous  public  ministry,  he  had  rarely 
and  slightly  touched  upon  the  eminent  dignity  of  his  own  person, 
as  divine.  He  now,  however,  enlarges  upon  this  theme;  and  in 
so  doing  states  his  reason  for  it.  Hitherto  he  had  been  with 
them,  and  had  taught  them,  as  they  were  able  to  bear  it.  But 
now,  they  having  gained  some  degree  of  strength  and  maturity, 
and  being  about  to  enjoy  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  comforts 
them,  in  view  of  their  coming  bereavement,  with  clear  and 
abundant  statements  as  to  his  own  personal  dignity,  and  the 
cause  and  end  of  his  approaching  sufferings.  "  These  things  I 
said  not  unto  you  at  the  beginning,  because  I  was  with  you." 
"I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you;  but  ye  cannot  bear 
them  now.  Howbeit,  when  he  the  Spirit  of  truth  is  come,  he 
will  guide  you  into  all  truth." — John  xvi.  4,  12,  13.  In  this  re- 
markable discourse,  there  are  two  doctrines,  which  constitute 
the  fundamental  basis  of  the  entire  communication.  The  first, 
is  that  of  his  own  true  divinity, — his  co-equality  and  oneness 
with  the  Father.  The  second,  is  the  unity  of  his  people  with 
him,  and  his  unity  with  them.  These  two  doctrines,  he  repre- 
sents as  alike  true  and  inseparable ;  and  upon  them,  together,  he 
founds  the  precious  promises  and  encouragements  which  soothed 
and  comforted  the  hearts  of  his  beloved  and  stricken  friends. 
"If  ye  had  known  me,  ye  should  have  known  my  Father  also; 
and  from  henceforth  ye  know  him,  and  have  seen  him.  Philip 
saith  unto  him,  Lord,  show  us  the  Father,  and  it  sufficeth  us. 
Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and 
yet  hast  thou  not  known  me,  Philip?  He  that  hath  seen  me 
hath  seen  the  Father;  and  how  sayest  thou  then,  Show  us  the 
Father?  Believest  thou  not  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the 
Father  in  me?  the  words  that  I  speak  unto  you  I  speak  not  of 
myself;  but  the  Father  that  dwelleth  in  me,  he  doeth  the  works. 
Believe  me  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  me." — 
John  xiv.  7-11.  With  this,  compare  the  words  of  Jesus  to  the 
Jews : — "I  and  my  Father  are  one."  "If  I  do  not  the  works  of 
my  Father,  believe  me  not.  But  if  I  do,  though  ye  believe  not 
me,  believe  the  works ;  that  ye  may  know  and  believe  that  the 

38 


594  The  EloJtim  Revealed  [chap.  xx. 

Father  is  in  me,  and  I  in  him." — John  x.  30,  37,  38.  Afterward, 
Jesus,  having  insisted  upon  the  coming  and  office  of  the  Comforter, 
adds,  "At  that  day  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  in  my  Father,  and 
ye  in  me,  and  I  in  you." — John  xiv.  20.  In  the  beginning  of 
the  fifteenth  chapter,  under  the  figure  of  the  vine  and  branches, 
he  clearly  explains  what  he  means  by  this  inbeing  of  his  people 
in  him.  As  the  vital  principle  of  the  vine  unites  the  branches 
to  it,  and  imparts  to  them  life,  verdure  and  fruitfulness, — so  is 
it  between  him  and  them.  The  Spirit  which  dwelt  in  him,  im- 
parted to  and  abiding  in  them,  shall  unite  them  to  him,  and 
impart  to  them  his  knowledge,  and  lead  them  in  holiness.  In 
the  subsequent  part  of  the  discourse,  he  cheers  their  hearts  with 
abundant  consolations  derived  from  the  doctrines  thus  attested; 
accompanied  with  corresponding  exhortations  and  admonitions : — 
"Ye  now  have  sorrow:  but  I  will  see  you  again,  and  your  heart 
shall  rejoice,  and  your  joy  no  man  taketh  from  you.  And  in 
that  day,  (e/ze  oox  ipcozvjaere  oudev,)  ye  shall  not  any  more  ques- 
tion me,  [being  taught  all  things  by  the  indwelling  Spirit.] 
Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  the 
Father,  in  my  name,  he  will  give  it  you."  "At  that  day  ye 
shall  ask  in  my  name :  and  I  say  not  unto  you  that  I  will  pray 
the  Father  for  you :  for  the  Father  himself  loveth  you,  because 
ye  have  loved  me  and  have  believed  that  I  came  out  from  God. 
I  came  forth  from  the  Father,  and  am  come  into  the  world :  again, 
I  leave  the  world  and  go  to  the  Father."  "These  things  have 
I  spoken  unto  you,  that  in  me  ye  might  have  peace." — John 
xvi.  22-33.  Thus,  the  entire  discourse  rests  upon,  and  recurs 
continually  to,  the  doctrine  of  his  own  oneness  with  the  Father, 
and  his  people's  inbeing  in  him. 

At  the  close  of  this  discourse,  Jesus  bears  his  people  to  the 
Father's  bosom,  in  that  wonderful  prayer  which  John  records. 
He  prays,  "  Holy  Father,  keep,  through  thine  own  name,  those 
whom  thou  hast  given  me,  that  they  may  be  one,  as  we  are." 
"Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,  but  for  them  also  which  shall 
believe  on  me  through  their  word;  that  they  all  may  be  one;  as 
thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one 
in  us ;  that  the  world  may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me.     And 


sect,  vi.]  The  Second  Adam,  595 

the  glory  which  thou  gavest  me  I  have  given  them;  that  they 
may  be  one,  even  as  we  are  one ;  I  in  them,  and  thou  in  me,  that 
they  may  be  made  perfect  in  one;  and  that  the  world  may  know 
that  thou  hast  sent  me,  and  hast  loved  them  as  thou  hast  loved 
me." — John  xvii.  11,  20-23. 

That  our  Saviour,  in  the  language  quoted  from  his  discourse, 
designed  to  assert  his  own  supreme  divinity, — his  nativity, 
equality  and  oneness  with  the  Father, — will  not  be  questioned 
by  any  who  believe  in  that  divinity.  That  he,  in  the  same  con- 
nection, speaks  of  a  real  oneness  between  him  and  his  people, 
wrought  by  the  engrafting  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  and  that  he  re- 
presents this  doctrine  as  inseparably  associated  with  the  other, 
and  correlative  to  it,  is  equally  obvious.  "  Ye  shall  know  that 
I  am  in  the  Father,  and  ye  in  me,  and  I  in  you."  That  the  ex- 
position of  these  doctrines  and  their  results  occupies  the  entire 
discourse,  the  most  casual  inspection  will  demonstrate.  It  is 
impossible,  therefore,  to  avoid  the  conclusion,  that,  when  in  his 
prayer  he  employs  the  same  phraseology,  he  has  in  view  the 
same  things,  of  which  he  has  just  been  telling  his  beloved  dis- 
ciples. However  far,  therefore,  the  union  which  subsists  be- 
tween Christ  and  his  people  may  fall  short  of  that  between  the 
Father  and  the  Son,  it  is  not  thought  unworthy,  by  the  Son 
himself,  to  be  compared  with  it.  "That  they  may  be  one,  as  we 
are. — That  they  all  may  be  one;  as  thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and 
I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us. — That  they  may  be 
one,  even  as  we  are  one ;  I  in  them,  and  thou  in  me,  that  they 
may  be  made  perfect  in  one." 

Should  it  be  suggested,  that  the  unity  here  spoken  of  is 
merely  that  of  mutual  love  and  sympathy, — the  answer  is  ob- 
vious. Jesus  has  just  before  showed  his  disciples  the  impossi- 
bility of  their  being  able  to  do  any  thing  good,  without  being 
members  of  him,  by  a  real  union.  At  the  same  time,  he  had 
promised  them,  that  he  would  pray  the  Father  to  send  them  the 
Holy  Spirit,  by  whom  that  union  is  wrought.  He  immediately 
offers  the  prayer,  in  which  he  employs  the  very  words  which  he 
had  just  used  to  describe  the  real  union  itself.  It  is  preposter- 
ous to  suppose,  that,  in  such  circumstances,  he  means  to  be  un- 


596  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xx. 

derstood  as  confining  his  thoughts  to  the  end,  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  essential  means;  which  he  has  so  magnified,  just  before. 
Further,  even  were  we  to  allow  that  "by  the  oneness,  of  which 
he  speaks  in  the  prayer,  is  meant  mutual  love  and  harmony,  yet 
is  the  means  also  unequivocally  described: — "I  in  them, — that 
they  may  be  one." 

Whilst  the  union  of  the  divine  nature  and  the  human,  and  of 
Christ  and  his  church,  in  the  person  of  the  Mediator,  constitute 
the  two  glories  of  his  most  glorious  person,  they  are  also  its  two 
great  mysteries.  "  Great  is  the  mystery  of  godliness,  God  was 
manifest  in  the  flesh." — 1  Tim.  iii.  16.  So,  says  Paul,  "This  is 
a  great  mystery.  I  speak  concerning  Christ  and  the  church." 
— Eph.  v.  32.  But,  whilst  these  are  equally  mysteries,  they  are 
mysteries,  of  which,  the  latter  is  as  unequivocally  revealed  to 
us  as  the  former.  '  ■  The  mystery  which  hath  been  hid  from  ages 
and  from  generations,  but  now  is  made  manifest  to  his  saints : 
to  whom  God  would  make  known  what  is  the  riches  of  the  glory 
of  this  mystery  among  the  Gentiles;  which  is,  Christ  in  you, 
the  hope  of  glory." — Col.  i.  26,  27.  Here,  however,  it  is  proper 
to  notice  a  fact  which  is  illustrated  in  this  language  of  Paul. 
The  common  design  of  the  word,  mystery,  in  the  Scriptures,  is 
to  indicate  not  a  necessary  inscrutability,  but  the  fact  that  a 
thing  has  not  been  hitherto  disclosed.  Such  is  its  meaning,  as 
used  by  Paul,  respecting  the  typical  relation  of  Adam  and  Eve 
to  Christ  and  the  church.  It  is  true  that  the  union  between 
these  is  inscrutable,  so  far  as  exhaustive  comprehension  is  im- 
plied. But  it  is  no  more  true  of  this,  than  of  any  other  of  the 
leading  truths  of  the  gospel.  The  remark  applies  as  fully  to 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity ;  to  the  eternal  generation,  the  proces- 
sion of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  incarnation,  the  very  union  of  the 
soul  and  body  of  man.  And  yet,  there  is  reason  to  apprehend 
that  the  arbitrary  appropriation  of  the  term,  mystical,  to  this 
alone,  of  all  the  doctrines  of  revelation,  has  induced  or  cherished 
a  disposition  to  look  upon  it  as  peculiarly  incomprehensible,  and 
of  little  practical  importance;  and  thus  to  work,  to  a  great  ex- 
tent, its  actual  exclusion,  in  many  cases,  from  a  place  in  the  theo- 
logy of  the  pulpit.     The  doctrine  is,  indeed,  beyond  finite  com- 


sect,  vi.]  The  Second  Adam.  597 

prehension.  But  only  so,  as  are  all  the  deep  things  of  God; 
which  carnal  blindness  is  indisposed  to  search,  and  finite  capa- 
city incompetent  to  measure.  "The  mystery, — Christ  in  you 
the  hope  of  glory,"  Paul  declares  to  have  been  hid,  indeed,  from 
ages  and  generations,  but  now  to  be  manifested  and  made  known 
to  the  saints.  However  incomprehensible,  therefore, — this  doc- 
trine is  both  expressly  revealed,  and  clearly  defined;  and  its 
distinct  and  constant  recognition  is  as  essential  to  correct  con- 
ceptions  of  the  way  of  salvation,  as  is  that  of  the  incarnation 
itself.  We  shall,  therefore,  distinctly  notice  the  most  important 
points  which  are  brought  out  on  the  subject,  in  the  Scriptures. 

1.  Christ  himself  is  the  efficient  author  of  this  union.  As,  by 
his  own  power  and  will,  he  took  to  himself  our  nature,  so,  in  a 
I  7.  Nature  like  manner,  he  takes  us  into  union  with  himself. 
of  the  union.  This  will  be  fully  illustrated,  in  what  follows;  and 
is  the  great  truth,  which  is  set  forth,  realized  and  sealed  in  the 
Lord's  supper,  in  which  "the  worthy  receivers  are,  not  after  a 
corporal  and  carnal  manner,  but  by  faith,  made  partakers  of  his 
body  and  blood."*  Hence  the  saying  of  Jesus,  "I  am  the 
living  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven :  if  any  man  eat  of  this 
bread,  he  shall  live  forever :  and  the  bread  that  I  will  give  is  my 
flesh,  which  I  will  give  for  the  life  of  the  world." — John  vi.  51. 
As  the  bread  and  wine  enter  into  and  assimilate  with  our  bodies, 
so  as  to  become  part  of  them,  so,  in  a  spiritual  manner,  does 
Christ  give  us  his  flesh,  and  works  in  us  a  union  with  him,  as 
real  as  the  other,  and  far  more  intimate. 

2.  The  agent  of  the  union  is  the  Holy  Spirit,  of  whom  Paul 
says,  that  "as  the  body  is  one,  and  hath  many  members,  and  all 
the  members  of  that  one  body,  being  many,  are  one  body;  so 
also  is  Christ.  For  by  one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into  one 
body, . . .  and  have  been  all  made  to  drink  into  one  Spirit." — 1  Cor. 
xii.  12,  13.  "As  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ 
have  put  on  Christ.  ...  Ye  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus." — Gal.  hi. 
27,  28.  Hence,  the  ordinance  of  baptism,  which  by  "  the  washing 
with  water  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  doth  signify  and  seal  our  ingrafting  into  Christ,  "f 

*  Shorter  Catechism,  Qu.  96.  f  Ibid.  Qu.  94. 


598  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xx. 

One  main  reason  why  the  Mediator  must  assume  humanity, 
was,  in  order  that  his  human  nature  might  serve  as  a  temple  for 
the  Holy  Spirit.  The  idea  of  the  Third  Person  of  the  Godhead 
dwelling  in  the  divine  nature  of  the  Second,  would  be  utterly 
irreconcilable  with  a  several  personality  in  them.  But,  when 
the  Word  was  made  flesh,  in  the  very  act  of  his  incarnation,  the 
Spirit  was  present,  procreating,  possessing  and  filling  his  whole 
humanity.  Hence  the  words  of  the  Baptist : — "  The  Father 
giveth  not  the  Spirit  by  measure  unto  him." — John  iii.  34. 
Thus  was  the  human  nature  of  the  Mediator  made  the  temple 
of  abode  for  the  Holy  Ghost, — the  fountain  whence  alone  he 
ever  flows  to  men, — the  medium  through  which  only  he  is  ever 
known,  or  his  power  felt,  by  men.  It  is  in  reference  to  this, 
that  the  Saviour  says  to  the  Jews,  "  Destroy  this  temple,  and  in 
three  days  I  will  raise  it  up.  .  .  .  He  spake  of  the  temple  of  his 
body." — John  ii.  19-21.  For  the  same  reason  is  the  Holy 
Spirit,  as  the  agent  of  the  regeneration  and  sanctifying  of  be- 
lievers, called  the  Spirit  of  Christ ;  and  his  habitual,  controlling 
power,  "  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus."  It  is  of 
the  Spirit,  thus  dwelling  in  Christ's  person  and  constituting  his 
Spirit,  that  he  speaks  in  his  last  address,  promising  to  send  him 
to  abide  with  his  people  forever.  He  says,  "  I  tell  you  the 
truth :  it  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away ;  for,  if  I  go  not 
away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you ;  but  if  I  depart, 
I  will  send  him  unto  you.  And  when  he  is  come,  he  will 
reprove  the  world  of  sin,  and  of  righteousness,  and  of  judg- 
ment."— John  xvi.  7,  8.  It  is  needless  to  dwell  on  the  many 
scriptures  which  present  this  same  view  of  the  Spirit  as 
Christ's  Spirit,  sent  forth  by  him  for  the  conviction  and  sal- 
vation of  men.  After  his  sufferings  and  resurrection,  Jesus — 
to  make  known  to  his  disciples  how  intimately  related  that 
promised  Spirit  was  to  his  own  person,  and  how  closely  they 
would  be  united  to  him  by  that  Spirit — appeared  to  them  in  the 
upper  room,  and  with  the  salutation  of  "  Peace  !"  "he  breathed 
on  them,  and  saith  unto  them,  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost." — 
John  xx.  22.  It  is  in  fulfilment  of  these  great  and  precious 
promises  that  the  people  of   God  are  made  "  partakers  of  the 


sect,  vii.]  The  Second  Adam.  599 

divine  nature." — 2  Pet.  i.  4.  Having  ascended  up,  and  assumed 
the  throne,  Christ  pours,  upon  his  elect,  the  Spirit  from  on 
high.  (Isa.  xxxii.  15 ;  compare  xliv.  3 ;  Joel  ii.  28,  29 ;  Zech. 
xii.  10;  Acts  ii.  17,  18.)  By  it,  baptized  into  Christ,  they  are 
one  with  him,  and  complete  in  him. 

3.  The  union  thus  wrought  is  real,  substantial,  permanent, 
and  most  intimate.  If  that  is  a  real  union  which  incorporates 
the  stones  in  the  building,  the  branches  in  the  vine,  or  the 
members  in  the  body, — if  that  is  real  by  which  the  Father  is 
in  the  Son  and  the  Son  in  the  Father, — then  is  this  also  real. 
If  the  blessed  indwelling  Spirit  is  a  real  subsistence, — his  pre- 
sence and  his  power  real  and  infinite, — then  is  this,  of  which  he  is 
the  bond,  a  union  substantial  and  most  intimate.  It  is  more 
close  than  is  any  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge  or  conception, 
only  excepting  that  of  the  Persons  of  the  Trinity,  and  the  two 
natures  of  Christ.  If  that  be  an  intimate  union  which,  by 
virtue  of  material  continuity,  and  community  in  life,  blood  and 
nervous  fluid,  identifies  the  members  with  the  body,  how  much 
more  intimate  must  this  be,  which  is  constituted  by  the  person 
and  agency  of  the  almighty  and  omnipresent  Spirit  of  God 
pervading  and  possessing  every  element  of  our  being,  and,  in  a 
like  manner,  dwelling  in  our  glorious  Head,  as  a  uniting  bond ! 
"Though  Christ  be  in  heaven  and  we  on  earth,  yet  he  can  join 
our  souls  and  bodies  to  his,  at  such  a  distance,  without  any  sub- 
stantial change  of  either,  by  the  same  infinite  Spirit  dwelling  in 
him  and  us  ;  and  so  our  flesh  will  become  his,  when  it  is  quick- 
ened by  his  Spirit,  and  his  flesh  ours,  as  truly  as  if  we  did  eat 
his  flesh  and  drink  his  blood ;  and  he  will  be  in  us  himself,  by 
his  Spirit,  who  is  one  with  him,  and  who  can  unite  more  closely 
to  Christ  than  any  material  substance  can  do;  or,  who  can 
make  a  more  close  and  intimate  union  between  Christ  and  us. 
And  it  will  not  follow  hence  that  a  believer  is  one  person  with 
Christ,  any  more  than  that  Christ  is  one  person  with  the  Father 
by  that  greater  mystical  union.  Neither  will  a  believer  be  hereby 
made  God,  but  only  the  temple  of  God;  as  Christ's  body  and 
soul  is ;  and  the  Spirit's  lively  instrument,  rather  than  the 
principal  cause.     Neither  will  a  believer  be  necessarily  perfect 


600  The  EloMm  Revealed.  [chap.  xx. 

in  holiness  hereby ;  or  Christ  made  a  sinner :  for  Christ  knoweth 
how  to  dwell  in  believers  by  certain  measures  and  degrees,  and 
to  make  them  holy  so  far  only  as  he  dwelleth  in  them.  And 
though  this  union  seem  too  high  a  preferment  for  such  unworthy 
creatures  as  we  are,  yet,  considering  the  preciousness  of  the 
blood  of  God  whereby  we  are  redeemed,  we  should  dishonour 
God  if  we  should  not  expect  a  miraculous  advancement  to  the 
highest  dignity  that  creatures  are  capable  of,  through  the  merits 
of  that  blood."* 

4.  The  oneness  of  Christ  and  his  people  is  mutual.  So  it  is 
expressed  by  our  Saviour  : — "  Ye  in  me,  and  I  in  you." — John  xiv. 
20.  And  so  he  illustrates  it  by  his  own  union  with  the  Father : — 
"  As  thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may 
be  one,  in  us." — John  xvii.  21.  He  first  united  himself  to  our 
nature,  as  man;  and  then  unites  us  to  his  own  divine  nature. 
Thus,  by  a  double  tie,  are  he  and  his  people  one.  Each  of  these 
bonds,  as  we  shall  elsewhere  see  in  detail,  was  essential  to  the 
whole  office  and  work  of  the  Son  of  God ;  and,  together,  they 
constitute  a  union  more  unfathomable  in  its  amazing  closeness 
and  intimacy  than  in  any  thing  else. 

In  yet  another  respect  is  this  union  mutual.  As  the  Son  of 
God  unites  us  to  himself,  by  imparting  to  us  his  Holy  Spirit  and 
engrafting  us  into  his  body;  so,  on  the  other  hand,  does  he,  by 
that  indwelling  and  quickening  Spirit,  induce  in  his  people  an 
apprehension  and  embrace  of  him,  as  their  Head  and  Lord,  in 
actings  of  faith,  love  and  all  gracious  affections. 

5.  A  point  here  to  be  carefully  noticed,  is,  that,  in  both  aspects 
of  this  union,  the  Son  of  God  is  the  Head  of  the  body ;  and  his 
people  are  but  the  dependent  members.  In  uniting  his  divine 
nature  with  ours,  he  performed  the  work  by  his  own  almighty 
power.  His  omnipotence  was  the  principle  of  efficiency,  and  the 
human  nature  which  he  assumed  was  the  mere  passive  subject  of 
his  wonderful  agency.  So,  in  uniting  his  people  to  himself,  he 
sends  forth  his  Holy  Spirit,  and  works  his  unsearchable  grace 
in  them,  uniting  them  to  himself.  Thus,  always,  is  he  the  Head. 
He  is  the  efficient  cause  of  all  the  influences  which  operate  in 

*  Marshall  on  Sauctification.     Direction  iii. 


sect,  vii.]  The  Second  Adam.  601 

the  members  as  such, — the  controlling  principle  of  every  thing 
which  belongs  to  or  characterizes  the  body.  Hence,  he  is,  in  no 
manner  nor  degree,  denied  or  infected  by  the  corruption  and  de- 
pravity which  were  native  to  the  members,  whom  he  incorpo- 
rates into  his  body.  On  the  contrary,  the  influences  flowing 
from  him,  the  Head,  pervading  every  member,  work  in  them  all 
conformity  to  his  likeness,  and  purging  from  the  old  leaven. 
The  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus,  dwelling  abundantly  in  him, 
and  imparted  freely  and  continually  to  them,  is  the  fountain  of 
their  life,  the  spring  and  source  of  all  their  affections,  and  con- 
trolling principle  of  their  actions. 

The  glorious  person  of  the  second  'Adam  thus  constitutes 
a  power  to  bind  together  heaven  and  earth, — a  power  to  lay  hold 
of  base  and  fallen  man,  to  regenerate  and  exalt  him,  and  to  bear 
him  up  to  the  very  throne  and  bosom  of  God.  Nor  need  we  won- 
der at  the  amazing  results,  when  we  observe  the  agencies  which 
were  engaged.  That  behooved  to  be  a  perfect  work  which  was 
produced,  when  the  Holy  Trinity  united  in  council  and  agency 
for  the  creation  of  Adam,  the  head  of  the  human  race,  the 
primal  image  of  God.  What  a  result  should  we  then  anticipate, 
when  eternal  wisdom  is  expended,  and  the  counsel  is  established 
by  the  eternal  covenant  of  the  Godhead,  sealed  by  Jehovah's 
oath,  to  construct  and  endow  a  body  for  Him  who  dwelleth  in  the 
unapproachable  light, — a  body  fitted  to  reveal  abroad  the  Father's 
imao;e  as  it  dwells  in  the  Son,  in  consummate  clearness  and 
perfection ;  and  in  which,  as  an  appropriate  and  eternal  temple, 
the  blessed  Spirit  should  forever  dwell  and  exercise  his  power. 

In  the  performance  of  such  a  work,  whether  we  view  it  as 
having  respect  to  his  own  individual  person  merely,  or  as  in- 
cluding his  body  the  church,  each  person  of  the  Godhead  is 
employed.  When  the  Son  says  to  the  Father,  "A  body  hast 
thou  prepared  me," — Heb.  x.  5, — the  language  applies,  not  only 
to  that  holy  thing  which  was  conceived  of  the  virgin,  but  to  that 
whole  body  which  is  composed  of  the  redeemed,  who  were  made 
by  the  Father's  hand,  given  to  the  Son  by  the  Father's  love, 
and  united  to  him  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Father,  dwelling  in  all 
fulness  in  both.     The  Son  both  took  to  himself  his  personal 


602  The  Elolrim  Revealed.  [chap.  xx. 

body,  by  an  act  of  his  own  power,  and  unites  to  himself,  by  his 
own  omnipotent  will,  all  those  whom  the  Father  has  given  him, 
as  members  of  his  body  and  sharers  of  his  glory.  And  the 
blessed  Spirit  of  grace  is  alike  the  principle  of  his  generation  in 
the  womb  of  the  virgin,  and  of  the  regeneration,  by  which  his 
body  is  builded  up,  through  the  accession  of  each  chosen  mem- 
ber, until  the  whole  shall  be  complete. 

Thus  has  it  pleased  the  Father,  that  in  Jesus  should  all 
fulness  dwell.  In  him  is  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily, 
I  8.  Thus,  in  — the  Father  shining  in  him  as  his  own  perfect  and 
Mm  ail  fulness,  express  image, — the  Son  himself  incarnate  in  the 
child  of  Mary, — and  the  Spirit,  in  all  his  measureless  power  and 
grace,  making  him  his  temple  and  abode.  In  him  is  all  the  ful- 
ness of  man  regenerate  and  saved.  The  whole  company  of  the 
elect  is  complete  in  him,  and  constitutes  the  counterpart  fulness 
of  Him  that  filleth  all  in  all. 

Nor  does  it  need  that  he,  as  we  must,  should  await  the  day 
of  consummation  to  realize  that  fulness,  and  enjoy  the  perfection 
of  his  work, — the  harmonious  beauty  of  his  perfected  body. 
"Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  forever," — 
Heb.  xiii.  8, — he  who  could  say,  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  "  Before 
Abraham  was,  I  am," — John  viii.  58, — can  equally  say,  "Even  to 
everlasting,  I  am."  He  is  "  the  Alpha  and  Omega,"  who  testifies : — 
"  I  am  the  first  and  the  last ;  I  am  he  that  liveth  and  was  dead ; 
and  behold  I  am  alive  for  evermore,  Amen." — Rev.  i.  17,  18. 
"His  name  shall  be  called  The  Father  of  Ages." — Isa.  ix.  6. 
The  present  life  which  he  possesses  is  eternity.  The  habitation 
in  which  he  dwells  is  eternity.  From  his  will  and  wisdom  flow 
the  fleeting  periods  of  our  passing  days ;  but  to  him  they  bring 
no  vicissitude.  To  him,  therefore,  the  whole  work  of  his  grace 
is  now  as  fully  present  as  it  will  be  when  his  saints  shall  see  him 
in  his  beauty,  in  the  land  that  is  very  far  off.  Before  the  found- 
ations of  the  earth  were  laid,  he  rejoiced  in  its  habitable  parts, 
and  delighted  in  the  sons  of  men.  And  when  the  body  shall  at 
last  be  complete,  and  the  topstone  of  the  temple  brought  home 
to  its  place,  it  will  only  be  the  discovery,  to  the  capacities  of 
the  creatures,  of  a  work  and  a  glory  which  has  been  forever 


sect,  vii.]  The  Second  Adam.  603 

present,  and  realized  in  all  its  parts  and  proportions,  in  its  pro- 
gress and  completion,  by  the  incomprehensible  and  eternal  Son 
of  God. 

To  our  dark  and  carnal  apprehensions,  it  may  seem  strange 
and  inconceivable  that  there  should  be  any  beauty  or  glory  shed 
upon  the  person  or  character  of  Christ,  by  the  assumption  to 
himself  of  such  a  body  as  we  have  here  described.  But  the  very 
unfitness  of  the  material  only  renders  the  more  wonderful  the  re- 
sult, and  magnifies  the  honour  of  Him  by  whom  it  is  wrought. 
No  vision  so  glorious  shall  ever  be  witnessed  by  the  hosts  of 
heaven,  as  that  revealed  in  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb.  No  per- 
sonage so  altogether  lovely  as  the  King  in  his  beauty,  and  his 
queen  all  glorious  within,  and  arrayed  in  gold  of  Ophir.  No 
theme  is  so  worthy  of  the  highest  strains  of  heaven's  harps,  as 
the  wisdom  and  the  condescension,  the  power  and  the  grace,  dis- 
played by  Immanuel,  in  espousing  the  daughter  of  Egypt,  and 
making  her  worthy  of  his  love.  No  revelation  of  the  ineffable 
glories  of  God  will  compare  to  that  which  consists  in  the  person 
and  the  work,  the  origin  and  the  inheritance,  of  that  mystical 
person,  the  Second  Adam,  and  his  body,  the  church. 

In  this  discussion,  we  have  looked  upon  the  person  of  the 
Mediator  chiefly  in  the  light  of  our  necessities,  and  his  fitness  to 
perform  the  work  of  salvation  for  us.  But  there  is  a  higher 
point  from  which  the  whole  subject  is  to  be  viewed.  The  plan 
of  salvation  is  the  most  signal  and  crowning  feature  in  the  whole 
scheme  for  the  revelation  of  God.  In  it  are  seen  blending  in 
harmonious  beauty,  and  unfolding  in  boundless  and  inconceivable 
majesty  and  glory,  the  whole  riches  of  the  perfections  of  the 
blessed  Three,  the  ineffable  One.  It  has  already  appeared,  that, 
by  the  eternal  covenant,  the  Son  was  ordained  the  Kevealer ; 
and  that  the  design  of  grace  was  formed,  and  the  plan  of  grace 
devised,  for  the  purpose  of  providing  means  for  the  revelation 
of  God  to  the  creatures.  It  belongs,  therefore,  to  the  preroga- 
tive of  the  Son,  not  only  by  nature,  but  by  covenant,  also,  to  be 
the  Mediator, — and,  as  such,  God-man, — through  whom  the  sal- 
vation is  bestowed  on  man  ;  since  that  salvation  constitutes  the 
means  of  a  display,  so  glorious,  of  the  divine  nature  and  perfec- 


604  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xx. 

tions.  In  his  own  essential  nature,  lie  was  the  brightness  of 
the  Father's  glory,  and  express  image  of  his  person.  But  in 
this  nature,  he,  the  Revealer,  is  himself  concealed.  Although 
the  Creator's  glory  was  displayed  in  his  works, — although  the 
Father  was  discovered  in  the  things  which  he  made  by  the  hands 
of  the  Son, — yet  was  the  Son,  in  all  this,  as  unsearchable  as  was 
the  Father.  He  was  the  blessed  and  only  Potentate,  "  dwelling 
in  the  light  which  no  man  can  approach  unto;  whom  no  man 
hath  seen,  nor  can  see." — 1  Tim.  vi.  16.  If  the  Shechinah  de- 
clared his  presence,  it  was  as  the  Invisible ;  and  it  is  only  in  the 
flesh  that  God  is  manifested, — seen  of  angels.  He,  thus,  so  per- 
fect a  likeness  of  the  Father  as  to  be  absolutely  one  in  essence 
and  glory  with  him,  condescends  to  render  that  glory  visible  by 
assuming  the  form  and  nature  of  a  creature.  "  The  Word  was 
made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us,"  says  John,  "and  we  beheld 
his  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father." — 
John  i.  14.  He  was  made  flesh  by  becoming  one  of  that  race 
who  were  in  their  creation  ordained  the  image  of  God, — whose 
whole  nature  was  constructed  by  the  divine  wisdom,  not  only 
as  in  itself  a  wonderful  irradiation  of  God's  glory,  but  with  spe- 
cific reference  to  the  purposed  incarnation  of  the  Mediator, 
and  incorporation  of  the  elect  in  his  body.  And  when  the  Son 
says  to  the  Father,  "  A  body  hast  thou  prepared  me,"  the  de- 
claration is  not  only  true  respecting  the  body  of  his  flesh,  as  born 
of  the  virgin,  but  true  as  implying  the  council  and  decree  by 
which  Adam  was  created  to  have  contemplated  the  providing  of 
a  fitting  nature  for  the  second  Adam ;  by  the  assumption  of  which 
the  Son  might  reveal,  in  otherwise  unapproachable  clearness, 
the  mystery  of  God's  glory.  Thus,  whilst  the  divine  nature 
of  the  Son  is  the  very  outshining  and  counterpart  of  the  Father's 
person,  his  human  nature  constituted  the  nearest  likeness  of  God 
which  creature  could  possess;  and  at  the  same  time  was  the 
most  fitting  instrument,  as  head  of  his  body  the  Church,  for  the 
disclosing  of  the  divine  perfections ; — a  glass  through  which  the 
glory  of  the  Highest  pours  its  concentrated  rays  in  a  flood  of 
radiance,  which  fills  the  universe  with  light,  and  all  holy  beings 
with  adoring  wonder,  joy  and  praise. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
Christ's  obedience  to  the  law. 

The  one  word,  obedience,  expresses  the  whole  work  of  Christ, 
in  atoning  for  his  people,  and  acquiring  for  them  freedom  from 
I  1.  Christ's  sin  and  the  curse,  and  a  title  to  eternal  life.  It  so 
obedience  vo-     expresses  his  work,  moreover,  as  to  show  it  to  have 

tary'  been  in  fulfilment  of  the  requirements  of  the  law; 

which  he  obeyed,  satisfying  its  claims,  both  penal  and  preceptive, 
in  the  terms  which  that  law  denned.  He  thus  provided  a  right- 
eousness whereby  God  may  "be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him 
which  believeth  in  Jesus." — Rom.  iii.  26. 

In  order  to  Christ's  being  held  responsible  to  the  law,  for  the 
accomplishment  of  his  atoning  work,  it  was  necessary  that  he 
should  freely  and  voluntarily  place  himself  under  its  authority, 
in  such  manner  that  its  claims  should,  without  any  arbitrary 
construction,  but  spontaneously  and  of  right,  come  upon  him; 
so  that,  not  only  should  justice  be  entitled  to  make  demand  of 
him,  but  be  bound  to  accept  satisfaction  at  his  hand.  That 
Christ,  even  as  to  his  mediatorial  humanity,  was  not  bound 
under  the  law,  by  any  natural  necessity,  we  have  already  seen. 
The  absolute  necessity  of  spontaneity  in  his  sufferings  is  abun- 
dantly demonstrable.  To  imagine  him  to  have  unwillingly  borne 
any  part  of  those  pangs  with  which  he  was  afflicted,  involves  us 
in  one  of  two  conclusions.  Either  those  sufferings  were  con- 
trary to  justice, — which  is  every  way  absurd  and  blasphemous; 
or,  the  soul  of  the  Redeemer  did  not  acquiesce  in  the  demands 
of  justice.  In  that  case,  his  work,  so  far  from  atoning  for  the 
sins  of  others,  would  itself  need  atonement, — which  it  is  blas- 
phemy to  imagine.  To  suppose  him  to  have  endured  reluctantly 
any  thing,  is  to  attribute  to  the  law  an  essential  authority  over 

605 


606  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxi. 

him,  irrespective  of  his  will.  This  is,  to  deny  him  to  have 
humbled  himself  by  obedience ;  since  obedience  was,  in  that 
case,  due.  It  is,  to  deny  him  to  have  magnified  the  law  and 
made  it  honourable ;  since  that  cannot  be  done  by  an  obedience 
to  which  the  law  had  a  native  right.  Further,  it  would  render 
his  salvation  altogether  empty  and  futile;  since  such  an  authority 
of  the  law,  being  essential  and  irrespective  of  his  consent,  must 
be  of  perpetual  obligation;  and  therefore  can  never  be  finally 
satisfied.  In  short,  to  question  the  entire  and  cordial  acqui- 
escence of  the  Mediator  in  bearing  the  curse,  involves  an  im- 
peachment of  his  fidelity  to  that  eternal  covenant  under  the 
terms  of  which  he  endured  the  cross.  This  is  the  argument  to 
which  he  himself  appeals: — "How  then  shall  the  Scriptures  be 
fulfilled,  that  thus  it  must  be?" — Matt.  xxvi.  54.  "0  fools,  and 
slow  of  heart  to  believe  all  that  the  prophets  have  spoken :  ought 
not  Christ  to  have  suffered  these  things,  and  to  enter  into  his 
glory?" — Luke  xxiv.  25,  26.  The  only  necessity  involved  in  the 
case,  was  the  moral  necessity, — if  even  that  be  not  a  misuse  of 
language, — that  the  unchangeable  Son  of  God  should  be  unchange- 
ably himself;  that  he  who,  with  every  condition,  and  the  whole 
result,  fully  present  to  his  eternal  mind,  had  undertaken  the 
work  of  salvation,  should  finish  freely,  what  freely  he  began. 
"For  the  joy  that  was  set  before  him  he  endured  the  cross, 
despising  the  shame." — Heb.  xii.  2.  That  joy  consisted,  as  we 
have  formerly  seen,  in  four  things : — the  salvation  of  his  people, 
the  overthrow  and  destruction  of  his  enemies,  the  exaltation  and 
glory  of  his  mediatorial  person,  and,  as  the  crown  and  end  of  all, 
the  revelation  and  honour  of  the  blessed  Trinity.  To  imagine 
the  Son  of  God  to  have  been,  in  the  slightest  thought  or  deed, 
faithless  to  such  objects  as  these,  were  a  blasphemous  contradic- 
tion in  terms. 

It  is  to  be  considered  how  Jesus  assumed  the  place  of  his 
people  at  the  tribunal  of  the  law.  For  it  was  not  enough  that 
„  „  „    ,         he  should  obey.     His  obedience  must  sustain  such 

j>  2.  How  he  J 

came  under       a  relation  to  them  as  to  be  acceptable  by  justice  on 
the  curse.  their  account.     It  is  not  sufficient  that  he  should 

suffer.     He  must  meet  and  exhaust  the  very  curse  which  was 


sect,  i.]  Christ's  Obedience  to  the  Laa\  607 

launched  against  them.  His  position  must  be  such  that  justice, 
in  searching  for  the  transgressors,  shall  find  him  in  such  a  rela- 
tion to  them  as  to  render  him  the  party  responsible  to  its  curse 
for  their  sins.  Here  is  no  room  for  a  mere  arbitrary  interposi- 
tion. If  the  law  do  not  find  him  responsible,  it  cannot  be  satis- 
fied by  any  obedience  he  may  perform,  or  suffering  he  may  en- 
dure. Justice  and  truth  must  meet  together,  in  the  atoning 
work.  Unless  Christ  occupied  such  a  relation  to  the  sins  of  his 
people  that  they  may,  in  some  proper  sense,  be  called  his  sins, 
they  cannot  be  imputed  to  him,  nor  punished  in  him.  His  posi- 
tion must  be  such  that  he  shall  be  "numbered  with  the  trans- 
gressors."— Isa.  liii.  12.  What  has  been  presented,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  union  of  Christ  and  his  people,  suggests  the  solution, 
which  the  wisdom  and  love  of  God  have  devised,  for  the  problem 
here  suggested.  It  was  not  in  his  individual  capacity,  as  a  man, 
that  Jesus  stood  at  the  tribunal; — but  in  that  relation,  a  recog- 
nition of  which  we  have  seen  to  be  essential  to  a  complete  con- 
ception of  his  person  and  position, — as  head  of  that  body  the 
church,  which  Paul  so  remarkably  represents  as  all  compre- 
hended in  his  name: — "As  the  body  is  one,  and  hath  many 
members,  and  all  the  members  of  that  one  body,  being  many, 
are  one  body,  so  also  is  Christ." — 1  Cor.  xii.  12.  Inasmuch  as 
he  has  condescended  to  become  their  head,  he,  in  so  doing,  makes 
himself  responsible  for  his  members,  at  the  bar  of  justice.  So 
says  Owen,  "The  principal  foundation  hereof  is,  that  Christ 
and  the  church,  in  this  design,  were  one  mystical  person,  which 
state  they  do  actually  coalesce  in,  through  the  uniting  efficacy 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  is  the  Head,  and  believers  are  the  mem- 
bers of  that  one  person;  as  the  apostle  declares,  1  Cor.  xii.  12,  13. 
Hence,  as  what  he  did  is  imputed  unto  them,  as  if  done  by  them, 
so  what  they  deserved  on  the  account  of  sin  was  charged  upon 
him."  "That  our  sins  were  transferred  unto  Christ,  and  made 
his;  that  thereon  he  underwent  the  punishment  that  was  due 
unto  us  for  them;  and  that  the  ground  hereof,  whereinto  its 
equity  is  resolved,  is  the  union  between  him  and  us,"  this  emi- 
nent divine  shows  to  have  been  the  common  faith  of  the  church, 


608  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxi. 

by  appeal  to  many  witnesses.*  The  reason  and  propriety  of  the 
proceeding  is  obvious.  The  several  and  individual  personality, 
which  natively  belonged  to  Christ's  people,  being,  at  the  bar  of 
justice,  merged  in  that  higher  identity,  by  which  they  are  mem- 
bers of  his  body,  of  one  Spirit  with  him,  and  pervaded  by  one 
life,  it  follows  of  necessity  that  any  responsibilities  to  which 
they  may  have  been  previously  subject,  are  transferred  to  him 
their  Head.  This  does  not  imply  that  there  is  any  such  con- 
founding of  identity,  as  that  the  sins  of  the  members  become,  in 
the  same  sense,  the  sins  of  the  Head;  or,  in  any  sense  which 
would  imply  the  infusion  of  the  turpitude  of  sin  into  him  who 
knew  no  sin.  But,  in  uniting  them  to  himself,  Christ  finds  in 
his  people  sin,  on  account  of  which,  they  are  not  only  infected 
with  turpitude,  but  indebted  to  justice.  By  making  them  mem- 
bers of  his  person,  he,  by  the  power  of  his  Spirit,  purges  the 
turpitude  and  destroys  the  sin;  whilst,  at  the  same  time,  he  be- 
comes responsible  to  the  law  for  the  penalty  already  incurred; 
and  that,  for  the  reason,  that  law  and  justice,  in  all  cases,  pass 
by  the  members,  and  hold  the  head  responsible.  Thus,  a  king- 
dom or  sovereignty,  which  incorporates  a  foreign  province  into 
itself,  in  so  doing,  becomes  responsible  for  any  obligations  pre- 
viously incurred  by  the  acquired  territory;  although  it  may  not 
at  all  admit  any  intrinsic  moral  communion  or  participation  in 
the  facts  by  which  those  responsibilities  were  incurred.  On  the 
contrary,  itself  becomes  the  fountain  of  influence;  and,  thence- 
forth, both  infuses  its  own  intrinsic  character  into  the  new  pos- 
session, and  is  of  itself  the  exponent  of  the  whole,  in  all  ex- 
ternal interests  and  relations. 

The  history  of  Christ's  undertaking  such  a  relation  is  beauti- 
fully stated  by  Boston : — "  First,  The  Father  designed  a  certain 
number  of  lost  mankind,  as  it  were,  by  name,  to  be  the  consti- 
tuent members  of  that  body  chosen  to  life,  of  which  body  Christ 
was  the  designed  Head;  and  he  gave  them  to  him  for  that  end. 
Phil.  iv.  3 : — '  My  fellow-labourers,  whose  names  are  in  the  book 
of  life.'  John  xvii.  6: — 'Thine  they  were,  and  thou  gavest 
them  me.'      These  were  a  chosen   company,  whom   sovereign 

*  Owen  on  Justification,  ch.  viii.  Board  of  Pub.,  p.  198. 


sect,  ii.]  Christ's  Obedience  to  the  Law.  G09 

free  grace  picked  out  from  among  the  rest  of  mankind,  on  a 
purpose  of  love,  and  gave  to  the  second  Adam  for  a  seed. 
On  which  account  they  are  said  to  have  been  'chosen  in  him/ 
— Eph.  i.  4;  being,  in  the  decree  of  election,  laid  upon  him  as 
the  foundation  stone,  to  be  built  upon  him,  and  'obtain  salva- 
tion by  him.' — 1  Thess.  v.  9.  Which  decree,  as  it  relates  to  the 
members  elect,  is  therefore  called  'The  Book  of  Life;'  being,  as  it 
were,  the  roll  which  the  Father  gave  to  the  second  Adam,  the 
Head  elect,  containing  the  names  of  these  designed  to  be  his 
seed,  to  receive  life  by  him. 

"  Now,  our  Lord  Jesus,  standing  as  second  Adam,  Head  of  the 
election,  to  wit :  such  as  sovereign  pleasure  should  pitch  upon 
to  be  vessels  of  mercy,  did  accept  of  the  gift  of  the  particular 
persons  elected  or  chosen  by  his  Father.  John  xvii.  6 : — '  Thine 
they  were,  and  thou  gavest  them  me.'  Verse  10: — 'And  thine 
are  mine.'  Like  as  the  first  Adam,  in  the  making  of  the  first 
covenant,  stood  alone,  without  actual  issue ;  yet  had  destinated 
for  him  a  numerous  issue,  to  be  comprehended  with  him  in  that 
covenant,  to  wit ;  all  mankind ;  the  which,  Adam  did  at  least 
virtually  accept;  so,  a  certain  number  of  lost  mankind  being 
elected  to  life,  God,  as  their  original  proprietor,  gave  them  to 
Christ,  the  appointed  Head,  to  be  his  members,  and  comprehended 
with  him  in  the  second  covenant,  though  as  yet  none  of  them 
were  in  being;  and  he  accepted  of  the  gift  of  them,  being  well 
pleased  to  take  them  in  particular  for  his  body  mystical,  for 
which  he  should  covenant  with  his  Father.  And  in  token 
thereof,  he,  as  it  were,  received  and  kept  as  his  own  the  Book 
of  Life  containing  their  names,  which  is  therefore  called  'The 
Lamb's  book  of  Life.' — Kev.  xxi.  27."* 

This  acceptance  of  the  elect,  by  the  Mediator,  was  not  only  an 
acceptance  of  them  as  vessels  of  honour  to  him  and  stars  in  his 
crown ;  but,  as  they  were  bound  under  the  curse  and  held  in  the 
power  of  sin.  If  he  take  them  as  his,  it  must  be  with  the  encum- 
brance of  their  burdens,  the  responsibility  of  their  sins.  Before 
he  can  place  them  as  partners  on  his  throne,  or  set  them  as  jewels 
in  his  diadem,  he  must  satisfy  the  lien  that  was  upon  them  at 

*  Boston  on  the  Covenant  of  Grace.     Head  ii. 
39 


610  The  Elohim  Revealed.  chap.  xxi. 

the  bar  of  God's  justice,  and  free  them  from  the  bondage  of  de- 
pravity in  which  they  were  held.  This  the  Son  of  God  under- 
took. Making  them  one  with  himself,  he,  by  this  means,  acquired 
a  right  to  answer  to  their  names;  and,  being  thus  found,  by 
justice,  in  their  place  at  the  bar,  and  not  only  claiming  them  as 
his  own,  but  showing  them  to  be,  in  fact,  members  of  his  own 
body,  it  only  remained  that  justice  enforce  its  demand  against 
this  glorious  Surety,  who  thus  exalts  its  dignity  and  honours  its 
claims  by  humbling  himself  to  answer  at  its  tribunal. 

In  order  to  the  effect  of  the  economy  thus  described,  it  was  a 
matter  entirely  unimportant  that  the  elect  were  as  yet  not  all 
2  3.  He  satis-  actually  in  Christ.  As  already  mentioned,  the  entire 
fied  for  Ms  transaction  was  between  parties  to  whom  the  transi- 
viembers.  ^Qn  an(^  c}iange  0f  time,  and  vanishing  scenes  and 

circumstance,  are  unknown.  The  eternal  Judge,  at  whose  tri- 
bunal the  Head  of  the  elect  appeared  to  answer,  saw  in  him,  from 
everlasting,  all  those  whom  he  will  at  length  receive  into  union 
with  himself;  and  for  them,  as  thus  in  him,  he  transacted,  as 
well  in  the  eternal  covenant  itself,  as  in  the  days  of  his  flesh, 
whilst  bearing  for  them  the  curse.  That  it  was  for  the  elect,  as 
thus  related  to  Christ, — as  being  the  members  of  his  body, — that 
he  undertook  and  endured  the  curse,  the  testimony  of  the  Scrip- 
tures is  abundant  and  unequivocal.  Thus,  Paul  says  that  "  Christ 
is  the  head  of  the  church;  and  he  is  the  Saviour  of  the  body;" 
and  that  he  "loved  the  church,  and  gave  himself  for  it,  ...  for 
we  are  members  of  his  body,  of  his  flesh  and  of  his  bones." — 
Eph.  v.  23-30.  He  represents  Christ's  afflictions  as  borne  "for 
his  body's  sake,  the  church." — Col.  i.  24.  To  the  same  effect 
are  those  numerous  places  which  represent  the  people  of  God  to 
have  communion  in  Christ's  atoning  work,  by  virtue  of  member- 
ship in  him.  Thus,  Rom.  vi.  3-8,  "Know  ye  not  that  so  many 
of  us  as  were  baptized  into  Jesus  Christ  were  baptized  into  his 
death?  Therefore  we  are  buried  with  him  by  baptism  into 
•death,  that  like  as  Christ  was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the 
glory  of  the  Father,  even  so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of 
life.  For  if  we  have  been  planted  together  with  him,  [aufupozoi 
yeydua/jiev,  if  we  have  a  common  growth  with  him,  as  the  graft 


sect,  ii.]  Christ  s  Obedience  to  the  Lata.  Gil 

has  with  the  stock,)  in  the  likeness  of  his  death,  we  shall  be  also 
in  the  likeness  of  his  resurrection :  knowing  this,  that  our  old  man 
is  crucified  with  him,  [auvearauncodrj,  is  concrucified.)  .  .  .  Now 
if  we  be  dead  with  Christ  we  believe  that  we  shall  also  live  with 
him."  Again,  he  tells  the  Corinthians,  that  "if  one  died  for 
all,  then  [ol  tzuvtsz  a-kQavov)  all  are  dead," — 2  Cor.  v.  14;  and, 
to  the  Galatians,  "  I  am  crucified  with  Christ;  nevertheless  I  live : 
yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me." — Gal.  ii.  20.  In  the  epistle 
to  the  Colossians  we  have  another  remarkable  passage  to  our  pre- 
sent purpose, — Col.  ii.  6-20: — "As  ye  have  therefore  received 
Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  so  walk  ye  in  him :  rooted  and  built  up 
in  him,  and  stablished  in  the  faith.  .  .  .  For  in  him  dwelleth 
all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily.  And  ye  are  complete  in 
him,  which  is  the  head  of  all  principality  and  power:  in  whom 
also  ye  are  circumcised  with  the  circumcision  made  without 
hands,  in  putting  off  the  body  of  the  sins  of  the  flesh  by  the  cir- 
cumcision of  Christ :  buried  with  him  in  baptism,  wherein  also 
ye  are  risen  with  him  through  the  faith  of  the  operation  of  God, 
who  hath  raised  him  from  the  dead.  And  you,  being  dead  in 
your  sins  and  the  uncircumcision  of  your  flesh,  hath  he  quick- 
ened together  with  him,  having  forgiven  you  all  trespasses;  blot- 
ting out  the  handwriting  of  ordinances  that  was  against  us, 
which  was  contrary  to  us,  and  took  it  out  of  the  way,  nailing 
it  to  his  cross.  .  .  .  "Wherefore,  if  ye  be  dead  with  Christ  from 
the  rudiments  of  the  world,  why,  as  though  living  in  the  world, 
are  ye  subject  to  ordinances?"  We  might  multiply  citations  to 
the  same  effect.  In  these  places,  the  fundamental  principle  of 
the  apostle's  doctrine  is,  that  "by  one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptized 
into  one  body, — the  body  of  Christ," — 1  Cor.  xii.  13,  27;  that  "as 
many  of  us  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ  have  put  on  Christ." 
— Gal.  iii.  27.  By  virtue  of  this  baptism  engrafting  us  into 
Christ,  we  are  one  with  him,  and  have  communion  in  all  that  he 
did  in  making  atonement  for  us.  We  are  circumcised  with  him; 
we  are  crucified  with  him;  we  died  and  were  buried  with  him; 
with  him  we  are  quickened  and  rise,  and  with  him  take  posses- 
sion of  eternal  life.  It  was  not  he  whom,  on  the  cross,  God's 
justice  assailed.     But  the  old  man  which  was  in  his  members 


G12  The  Eloltim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxi. 

was  pierced  by  the  nails  which  entered  his  hands  and  feet;  and 
whilst,  by  Koman  hands,  the  superscription  appropriate  to  him 
individually  was  written, — "The  King  of  the  Jews," — God's 
justice  affixed,  as  the  charge  under  which  he  was  condemned, 
and  ground  of  his  death,  "  the  handwriting  that  was  against  us." 
That  inscription  reads,  "  The  Sin  or  the  World."  But,  if  it  be 
so,  that  our  sins  were  nailed  to  the  cross,  and  we  died  in  Christ's 
death  because  we  are  members  of  Christ  in  his  dying,  as  all  these 
places  testify,  and  if  it  be  true  that  our  sins,  thus  laid  upon  him, 
were  the  only  cause  of  his  death,  it  follows,  as  an  equivalent  pro- 
position, that  he  was  accused  of  our  sins,  and  died  for  them,  as 
being  the  sins  of  those  who  were  in  him, — his  members;  for 
which,  as  such,  he  was,  therefore,  responsible : — "  The  Lord  hath 
laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all," — Isa.  liii.  6;  not  by  an  arbi- 
trary transfer ;  but  by  the  bestowal  of  us  upon  him,  and  our  en- 
grafting in  him  as  his  members.  The  same  doctrine  is  expressed 
by  Isaiah  in  another  figure : — "  He  shall  see  his  seed.  .  .  .  He 
shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied." — Isa. 
liii.  10,  11.  His  atoning  sorrows  were  the  birth-pangs  endured 
for  his  people  as  his  seed, — as  the  very  fruit  of  his  own  body. 

This  doctrine  is  very  strikingly  and  tenderly  set  forth  in  the 
Lord's  supper: — "The  cup  of  blessing  which  we  bless,  is  it  not 
the  communion  of  the  blood  of  Christ?  The  bread  which  we 
break,  is  it  not  the  communion  of  the  body  of  Christ  ?  For  we 
being  many  are  one  bread,  and  one  body;  for  we  are  all  par- 
takers of  that  one  bread." — 1  Cor.  x.  16,  17.  Because,  by  faith, 
we,  in  partaking  of  the  bread,  receive  Christ  himself,  we  are  one 
body  with  that  crucified  one,  of  whom  the  broken  bread  is  the 
sacrament;  one  with  him  in  his  crucifixion,  and  he  one  with  us, 
and,  therefore,  for  our  sins  crucified. 

We  have  entirely  disregarded  the  interpretation,  which  sup- 
poses some  of  the  passages  quoted  above  to  have  respect  to  the 
form  of  baptism ;  as  though  resembling  a  burial.  This  interpreta- 
tion is  inconsistent  with  the  mode  of  Christ's  sepulture;  with  the 
scope  of  the  passages,  the  analogy  of  the  other  places  quoted,  and 
the  scriptural  meaning  and  design  of  the  ordinance  of  bap- 
tism ;  which  is  the  sign  and  seal  of  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit, 


sect,  in.]  Christ's  Obedience  to  the  Law.  613 

by  which,  we  are  united  to  Christ.  (See  Acts  i.  5,  and  ii.  2-4, 
17,18.  Compare  1  Cor.  xii.  13,  27;  Gal.  iii.  27.)  In  fact,  the 
interpretation  to  which  we  allude  would  seem  to  have  been  in- 
vented, for  the  purpose  of  mocking  the  people  of  Christ  with 
husks,  whilst  the  bread  of  heaven  is  withheld.  By  it,  the  pre- 
cious meaning  of  the  baptism  into  Christ  is  utterly  lost. 

The  point  next  demanding  attention  is,  the  nature  and  extent 
of  that  obedience  which,  in  the  capacity  thus  assumed,  the  Son 
$  i.  He  obeyed  of  God  rendered  to  the  law.  According  to  the  testi- 
the precept.  mony  of  Paul,  he  was  "made  under  the  law,  to 
redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law." — Gal.  iv.  4,  5.  In  this 
language,  the  phrase  "under  the  law,"  as  applied  to  Christ's 
people,  comprehends,  it  must  be  evident,  the  whole  extent  of 
their  responsibility  at  the  bar  of  justice,  under  the  provisions  of 
law.  To  this,  the  apostle  appeals,  as  the  reason  and  measure 
of  Christ's  subordination.  It  cannot  be  questioned,  that  the 
phrase,  "under  the  law,"  as  applied  severally  to  Christ  and  to 
his  people,  has  precisely  the  same  dimension.  Because  they  were 
held  in  the  bonds  of  the  law,  he  submitted  himself  to  those  bonds, 
that  they  might  have  release.  Whatever,  therefore,  was  implied 
in  the  fact  that  they  were  under  the  law,  whether  of  obligation 
to  its  precept  or  of  responsibility  to  its  curse,  is  equally  implied 
in  his  being  under  it.  He  assumed  all  their  debts,  in  order  to 
gain  them  for  himself.  The  same  idea  is  conveyed,  in  the  state- 
ment, that  "being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he  humbled  him- 
self, and  became  obedient,  until  death." — Phil.  ii.  8.  Here,  his 
position  as  being  in  the  attitude  or  condition  of  a  man,  that  is, 
"in  the  form  or  nature  of  a  servant"  to  the  law,  as  the  preceding 
verse  describes  him,  is  stated,  as  the  ground  upon  which  he  was 
held  to  obedience,  in  his  life,  and  to  death  at  last.  His  obe- 
dience, then,  was  the  obedience  of  a  man, — such  as  was  due  from 
man,  whom  he  came  to  save. 

That  the  righteousness,  which  Christ  wrought,  on  behalf  of  his 
people,  was  a  full  satisfaction  to  the  law,  in  its  own  terms,  is 
demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  he  himself  made  the  law  the  rule 
and  standard  of  his  action,  both  in  respect  to  his  obedience  and 
sufferings.     What  he  did,  was  what  the  law  required;  and  what 


614  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxi. 

he  submitted  to  endure,  was  what  the  law  imposed.  Thus,  in 
respect  to  his  entire  mission  and  work,  he  says,  in  the  fortieth 
Psalm,  "Lo,  I  come:  in  the  volume  of  the  book  it  is  written  of 
me,  I  delight  to  do  thy  will,  0  my  God :  yea,  thy  law  is  within 
my  heart." — Psalm  xl.  7,  8.  Here,  he  declares  the  purpose  of 
his  coming  to  earth  to  be,  the  doing  of  God's  will ;  of  which,  he 
recognises  the  law,  as  the  exponent.  So,  when  about  to  enter  on 
his  ministry,  he  applied  to  John  to  be  admitted  to  that  baptism 
of  repentance  for  the  remission  of  sins,  which  John  preached. 
Certainly,  so  far  as  he  individually  was  concerned,  he  needed  no 
such  baptism.  He  knew  no  sin.  And,  so  viewing  the  matter, 
John  exclaims,  "I  have  need  to  be  baptized  of  thee;  and  comest 
thou  to  me?  And  Jesus  answering  said  unto  him,  Suffer  it  to 
be  so  now;  for  thus  it  becometh  us  to  fulfil  all  righteousness." — 
Matt.  iii.  14,  15.  Thus  does  he  declare  it  to  be  requisite  to  that 
righteousness,  which  he  came  to  work,  not  only  to  comply  with 
the  ordinary  routine  of  the  Mosaic  ritual,  but  to  perform  such 
special  acts  of  observance  as  were  due  from  a  believing  Israelite. 
Again,  in  the  sermon  on  the  Mount,  he  says,  "Think  not  that 
I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law  or  the  prophets :  I  am  not  come 
to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil.  For  verily  I  say  unto  you,  Till  heaven 
and  earth  pass,  one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  in  no  wise  pass  from 
the  law,  till  all  be  fulfilled." — Matt.  v.  17,  18.  And,  lest  any 
should  cavil  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  phraseology  employed, 
respecting  the  law  and  the  prophets,  he  immediately  adds, 
"  Whosoever,  therefore,  shall  break  one  of  these  least  command- 
ments, and  shall  teach  men  so,  he  shall  be  called  the  least  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven ;  but  whosoever  shall  do  and  teach  them,  the 
same  shall  be  called  great  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  For  I  say 
unto  you,  That  except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the  right- 
eousness of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  case  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven." — vs.  19,  20.  From  this  text,  he  pro- 
ceeds at  large  to  expound  the  spirituality  of  the  law  of  God,  as 
contrasted  with  the  ceremonial  observances  of  the  Pharisees. 
Of  them,  he  says,  in  another  place,  "Woe  unto  you,  scribes 
and  Pharisees,  hypocrites !  for  ye  pay  tithe  of  mint  and  anise 
and  cummin,  and  have  omitted  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law, 


sect,  iv.]  Christ's  Obedience  to  the  Law.  615 

judgment,  mercy  and  faith:  these  ought  ye  to  have  done,  and 
not  to  leave  the  other  undone." — Matt,  xxiii.  23.  Such,  then,  is 
Christ's  own  statement  of  the  nature  and  extent  of  that  law 
which  he  came  to  fulfil.  It  was  the  law  of  God,  as  made  known 
to  Israel,  including  all  its  burdensome  observances,  and  all  its 
spiritual  precepts.  In  him,  every  jot  and  tittle  is  fulfilled.  To 
fulfil  all,  he  came. 

The  arguments  already  presented,  cover,  in  fact,  Christ's  obe- 
dience to  the  curse  of  the  law,  as  much  as  to  the  precept ;  since 
%  5.  He  bore  the  latter  is  an  essential  part  of  the  law,  as  well  as 
the  curse.  the  other.     Of  the  many  testimonies  of  the  Scrip- 

tures which  expressly  assert  Christ's  sufferings  to  have  been 
prescribed  by  the  law,  wre  will  cite  a  few  examples.  In  the 
epistle  to  the  Galatians,  Paul,  having  recited  the  penal  sanction 
of  the  law, — "  Cursed  is  every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all 
things  which  are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law,  to  do  them," — 
then  states  that  "  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the 
law,  being  made  a  curse  (uTzep  ■fjficoi*)  in  place  of  us." — Gal.  iii. 
13.  Here,  that  of  which  the  apostle  speaks  is  clearly  defined. 
It  is  that  legal  curse  of  which  he  says,  "  As  many  as  are  of  the 
works  of  the  law  are  under  the  curse ;  for  it  is  written,  cursed  is 
every  one,"  &c.  It  is  that  curse,  under  which,  by  nature,  and  by 
transgression,  Christ's  people  lay.  Of  it  Paul  says,  that  "he 
hath  redeemed  us  from  it."  The  means  of  our  redemption,  he 
states.  The  Redeemer  hath  been  "made  a  curse  for  us," — in 
our  stead.  That,  therefore,  which  Christ  bore  was  the  penalty 
of  the  law  due  to  our  sins.  The  law  denounced  a  curse.  He 
endured  it.  That  such  was  the  nature  of  his  sufferings,  more- 
over, Paul  shows  to  have  been  ceremonially  intimated  by  that 
overruling  Providence,  according  to  which  Jesus  expired  on  the 
cross.  By  the  Mosaic  law,  he  who  was  hanged  on  a  tree  was 
held  to  be  accursed,  as  being  rejected  from  off  the  earth,  and 
devoted  to  the  wrath  of  heaven.  The  design  of  this  provision 
is  seen  in  the  Son  of  God,  thus  proclaimed  to  earth  and  heaven 
to  be  a  curse  for  the  sins  of  men.  The  language  here  used  to 
express  the  burden  which  was  laid  upon  the  Redeemer,  is  the 
strongest  and  most  forcible  which  it  is  possible  to  employ  for  the 


616  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxi. 

purpose  of  representing  the  whole  boundless  tide  of  God's  infinite 
indignation.  In  the  Old  Testament,  it  is  the  habitual  expression 
for  the  climax  of  exhausted  patience  and  outpouring  wrath. 
"Therefore,"  says  Jeremiah,  "is  your  land  a  desolation,  and  an 
astonishment  and  a  curse,  without  an  inhabitant." — Jer.  xliv.  22. 
"I  have  sworn  by  myself,  saith  the  Lord,  that  Bozrah  shall 
become  a  desolation,  a  reproach,  a  waste  and  a  curse;  and  all 
the  cities  thereof  shall  be  perpetual  wastes." — Jer.  xlix.  13.  No 
Scripture  usage  is  more  fixed  and  determinate  than  that  by 
which  the  phrase,  "to  make  a  curse,"  is  defined  to  mean,  the  in- 
fliction, on  the  subject,  of  God's  ultimate  and  unmitigated  wrath. 
To  the  same  conclusion  which  we  have  already  attained  re- 
specting the  legal  nature  of  Christ's  sufferings,  are  we  compelled, 
by  all  those  scriptures  which  speak  of  him  as  suffering  "  for,"  or, 
"  instead  of,"  us.  Our  stand  was  under  the  law's  curse.  If  he 
really  suffered  in  our  place,  he  suffered  what  was  due  from  us. 
"  He  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  he  was  bruised  for  our 
iniquities.  .  .  .  The  Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all. 
.  .  .  For  the  transgression  of  my  people  was  he  stricken.  .  .  .  Thou 
shalt  make  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin.  .  .  .  He  hath  poured  out 
his  soul  unto  death ;  and  he  was  numbered  with  the  transgres- 
sors ;  and  he  bare  the  sin  of  many,  and  made  intercession  for 
the  transgressors." — Isa.  liii.  5-12.  "  The  bread  that  I  will  give 
is  my  flesh,  which  I  will  give  (uxkp)  in  stead  of  the  life  of  the 
world." — John  vi.  51.  "I  delivered  unto  you  first  of  all  that 
which  I  also  received,  how  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins,  accord- 
ing to  the  Scriptures." — 1  Cor.  xv.-  3.  "  Who  his  own  self  bare 
our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree." — 1  Peter  ii.  24.  But  it  is 
needless  to  multiply  citations  on  this  point,  respecting  which  the 
Scriptures  are  so  full.  One  additional  place  will  be  enough, 
with  the  remarks  upon  it  of  a  writer  who  certainly  is  not  open 
to  the  charge  of  prejudice  in  favour  of  the  doctrine.  Says  Mr. 
Barnes,  "  One  of  the  words  which  properly  denote  in  place  of, 
or  in  stead  of,  in  the  sense  of  substitution,  is  the  Greek  dvri 
(anti).  That  this  word  denotes  substitutioyi,  or,  in  the  place  of, 
is  apparent  from  these  passages : — Matt.  ii.  22  : — '  In  the  room 
(dvri)  of  his  father  Herod.'     Matt.  v.  38  :— '  An  eye  for  (dvve)  an 


sect,  v.]  Christ's  Obedience  to  the  Law.  617 

eye,  and  a  tooth  for  (avrc)  a  tooth.'  Luke  xi.  11 : — '  If  he  ask 
a  fish,  will  he  for  (dure)  a  fish  give  him  a  serpent  ?'  James  iv. 
15: — 'For  (avri)  that,'  that  is,  instead  of  that,  'ye  ought  to 
say.'  Yet  this  word  is  used  by  the  Eedeemer  in  explaining 
the  object  for  which  he  came  into  the  world, — Matt.  xx.  28 : — 
'  Even  as  the  Son  of  man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but 
to  minister,  and  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  {avrc)  many;'  that 
is,  his  life  was  a  ransom,  (Xorpov),  in  the  place  of  the  many. 
There  is  no  word  in  the  Greek  language  which  would  more 
naturally  convey  the  idea  of  a  substitution  than  this.  There  is 
none  which  a  writer,  intending  to  express  the  thought  that  one 
did  any  thing  in  the  place  of  another,  would  more  naturally 
employ."  After  similar  criticism  upon  the  word,  uxkf),  and 
many  citations  illustrating  its  use  to  express  the  substitution 
of  Christ  at  the  bar  of  justice  in  the  room  of  his  people,  Mr. 
Barnes  proceeds  to  say  : — 

"  These  passages  undoubtedly  express  the  idea  of  substitution. 
The  language  is  such  as  a  Greek  would  use  if  he  wished  to  con- 
vey that  idea.  He  could  find  no  better  terms  in  his  own  copious 
language  to  express  that  thought;  and,  if  this  language  does 
not  convey  the  idea,  then  it  is  impossible  to  express  so  plain  a 
thought  in  human  language.  Those  who  believe  the  doctrine 
of  substitution,  or  the  doctrine  that  Christ  died  in  the  place  of 
sinners,  have  no  plainer  words  by  which  to  express  their  belief 
than  those  which  are  employed  in  these  passages  of  the  New 
Testament ;  and  why  should  it  not  be  supposed  that  language 
in  the  Bible  equally  explicit  and  apparently  unambiguous, — lan- 
guage which  men  now  themselves  employ  as  best  adapted  to 
convey  their  meaning, — should  express,  as  it  seems  to,  the  same 
idea  ?  Is  it  impossible  for  God  to  convey  so  plain  a  thought  to 
mankind  as  that  He  whom  he  sent  into  the  world  died  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  sinners,  or  that  his  death  was  in  their  stead  ?  And, 
if  he  meant  to  do  this,  could  even  he  find  human  language  which 
would  convey  the  doctrine  more  clearly  ?  And  ivould  he  em- 
ploy language  commonly  used  to  denote  the  idea  of  substitution, 
unless  that  was  the  true  doctrine?"* 


*  Barnes  on  the  Atonement,  pp.  284,  287. 


618  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxi. 

The  argument  thus  presented  is  sound  and  conclusive.  No 
ingenuity  can  evade  the  conclusion  that  Christ  suffered  and  died, 
g  6. Mr. Barnef  in  the  place  of  his  people,  at  the  bar  of  justice. 
doctrine.  Perhaps  the  reader  imagines  this  to  be  the  doc- 

trine of  the  writer  here  quoted.  But  such  is  not  the  case. 
After  having  asserted  and  demonstrated  the  doctrine,  he  pro- 
ceeds at  once  to  cut  it  up  by  the  roots;  retaining,  indeed,  the 
name,  but  utterly  destroying  the  thing.  "The  third  point," 
says  Mr.  B.,  "necessary  to  be  established,  is,  that  the  sufferings 
of  the  Redeemer  were  substituted  sufferings,  or  that  they  were 
not  the  real  and  literal  penalty  of  the  law.  This  differs  from 
the  point  which  has  just  been  considered.  That  was,  that  he 
himself  was  a  substitute,  or  that  he  took  the  place  of  sinners, 
and  died  in  their  stead;  that  is,  it  was  not  the  person  who  had 
violated  the  law  who  suffered,  but  another  in  his  place.  The 
point  now  to  be  established  is,  that  the  sufferings  themselves 
were  substituted  sufferings,  or  that  they  were  not  the  real  and 
literal  penalty  of  the  law,  but  were  in  the  place  of  that  penalty, 
and  were  designed  to  answer  the  same  end."* 

In  the  position  thus  stated  by  Mr.  Barnes,  and  the  arguments 
by  which  he  attempts  to  establish  it,  the  very  essence  of  the 
atonement  is  at  stake.  It  demands,  therefore,  deliberate  consi- 
deration. The  first  point  to  be  noticed  is,  that  this  doctrine  is 
formally  contradictory  to  that  just  before  established.  He  has 
just  proved,  by  the  abundant  and  unequivocal  testimony  of  the 
Scriptures,  that  Christ  stood  in  our  place, — that  he  was  our  sub- 
stitute at  the  bar,  and  suffered  and  died  in  our  stead.  "He 
whom  God  sent  into  the  world  died  as  a  substitute  for  sinners, 
. .  .  his  death  was  in  their  stead. "f  "In  securing  this  reconcilia- 
tion, Christ  was  properly  a  substitute  in  the  place  of  sinners. 
A  substitute  is  '  one  person  put  in  the  place  of  another,  to  answer 
the  same  purpose.' — Webster.  The  idea  is,  that  the  person  sub- 
stituted is  to  do  or  suffer  the  same  thing  which  the  person  for 
whom  he  is  substituted  would  have  done."J  Such  is  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Bible,  as  set  forth  by  our  author,  himself.  But,  to 
come  into  our  place, — to  stand  in  our  stead, — to  be  a  substitute 

*  Barnes  on  the  Atonement,  p.  288.  f  Ibid.  287.  %  Ibid.  p.  281. 


sect,  vi.]  Christ's  Obedience  to  the  Law.  619 

for  us,  does  not  mean,  to  fill  a  place  different  from  that  which 
we  occupied.  Our  place  was  at  the  bar  of  the  law,  condemned 
by  its  justice,  and  doomed  under  its  curse.  If  Christ  came  into 
our  place,  that  must  have  been  the  place  which  he  filled, — at 
the  bar,  under  the  curse.  And,  that  such  was  his  position,  we 
have  seen  the  Scriptures  to  assert,  in  detail.  Mr.  Barnes'  sys- 
tem is,  indeed,  one  of  substitution;  not  that  substitution  which 
the  Scriptures  proclaim, — that  of  Christ  in  the  place  of  sinners; 
but,  of  another  system,  instead  of  that  in  which  God's  law  and 
justice  preside.  An  illustration  which  is  cited  by  Mr.  Barnes 
will  assist  to  make  this  plain.  "A  nation  is  threatened  with 
invasion.  The  inhabitants  of  a  certain  district  are  assembled, 
and  a  draft  is  made  of  a  certain  proportion,  to  constitute  a  mili- 
tary force  to  repel  the  invader.  "When  one  is  drawn  to  serve 
in  the  army,  instead  of  going  himself,  he  is  permitted  to  employ, 
at  his  own  expense,  another,  who  shall  be  equally  able-bodied, 
and  equally  skilled  in  the  art  of  war.  He  who  is  thus  volun- 
tarily substituted,  in  the  place  of  him  that  was  drafted  to  per- 
form the  service,  goes  forth  in  his  stead,  to  do  what  he  was  to  do, 
to  suffer  what  he  would  have  suffered,  to  encounter  the  danger 
which  he  would  have  encountered."*  A  substitute,  then,  Mr. 
Barnes  being  witness,  is  one  who  fills  the  very  place  of  him  in 
whose  stead  he  stands ; — he  must  perform  his  very  duties,  and 
bear  his  responsibilities.  Should  a  drafted  man  propose  to  fur- 
nish a  substitute,  but  upon  inquiry  it  should  appear  that,  instead 
of  serving  in  his  place,  the  substitute  was  expected  to  have  ex- 
emption from  military  duty,  in  consideration  of  the  performance 
of  some  civil  service,  all  would  see  the  absurdity  of  using  the 
word  in  such  a  way, — of  calling  this  a  substitution. 

In  the  defence  of  the  country,  a  different  mode  may  be  adopted, 
instead  of  that  at  first  proposed.  An  organization  of  volun- 
teers may  be  substituted  for  the  forced  draft;  or,  a  levy  en  masse 
instead  of  a  partial  draft.  Thus,  one  system  may  be  substituted 
for  another;  provided  it  is  designed  to  accomplish  the  same 
object.  And  it  is  perfectly  legitimate,  in  opposers  of  our  doc- 
trine, to  attempt,  if  they  can,  to  show,  that,  instead  of  satisfac- 

*  Barnes  on  the  Atonement,  p.  281. 


620  Tlte  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxi. 

tion  to  the  violated  law,  God  has  devised  and  carried  into  effect 
some  other  system  for  the  salvation  of  man.  But  it  is  not  legi- 
timate, nor  justifiable,  to  pretend  to  hold  Christ  to  have  been  our 
substitute  in  the  suffering  of  death ;  and  at  the  same  time  deny 
him  to  have  endured  the  very  penalty  which  the  law  denounced 
against  us.  It  is  one  thing,  to  substitute  a  surety  instead  of  the 
sinner,  condemned  at  the  bar  of  justice,  by  the  sentence  of  the 
law.  It  is  another,  to  remove  that  tribunal,  set  aside  the  pro- 
visions of  the  law,  and  substitute  something  else  in  their  stead. 
It  is  only  by  the  strictness  of  the  law  that  the  sinner  is  con- 
demned. By  its  rule  he  is  found  a  transgressor.  By  virtue  of 
its  indefeasible  authority,  and  by  that  alone,  is  he  subjected  to 
responsibility,  and  needs  salvation.  If  the  law  be  set  aside, — 
with  it,  the  sentence  of  condemnation  passes  away;  and  the  sin- 
ner needs  no  saviour.-  The  very  suggestion  of  a  substitute,  in- 
volves the  supposition  of  an  accusation  and  sentence  pending 
against  the  party; — it  implies  the  surviving  power  of  the  law, 
and  sovereignty  of  its  decree; — it  supposes  an  account  unsatis- 
fied at  its  bar,  and  responsibilities  there  to  be  met  and  cancelled. 
The  doctrine  of  the  substitution  of  Christ  in  our  stead,  is,  thus, 
irreconcilably  inconsistent  with  the  idea  that  he  did  not  endure 
the  very  penalty  of  the  law,  but  something  else,  in  its  stead. 
If  that  which  he  bore  was  not  the  very  thing  prescribed  by  the 
law,  it  neither  could  be  known  to  the  law,  nor  due  from  us. 
The  law,  therefore,  would  not  demand  it;  nor  justice  enforce  it; 
neither  on  us  nor  on  our  surety. 

Furthermore,  the  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures  is,  not  merely  in 
general  terms,  that  the  Redeemer  was  our  substitute ;  but,  as 
we  have  sufficiently  seen,  the  testimony  is  specific  and  in  detail, 
5  h.    ftt  ■  t      that,  whatever  was  due  from  us  to  the  law,  that  he 

g    7.     Christ  '  ' 

lore  the  very  satisfied.  If  we  were  under  the  law, — he  was  "  made 
penalty.  under  the  law,  to  redeem  them  that  were  under  the 

law." — Gal.  iv.  4.  If  obedience  to  every  precept  was  due  from 
us, — he  obeyed  all,  as  it  became  him  "to  fulfil  all  righteousness." 
— Matt.  iii.  15.  If  perfect  and  perpetual  obedience  was  clue  on 
our  part, — he  was  "obedient  until  death." — Phil.  ii.  8.  If  our 
lives  were  forfeited, — he  "gave  his  life  a  ransom  for  many." — 


sect,  vi.]  Christ's  Obedience  to  the  Law.  621 

Matt.  xx.  28.  If  "  the  wages  of  sin  is  death," — "  while  we  were 
yet  sinners  Christ  died  for  us." — Rom.  v.  8.  If  the  sentence 
of  the  law  against  us  was  a  curse, — "Christ  hath  redeemed  us 
from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us." — Gal.  iii. 
13.  In  short,  his  own  testimony  seals  the  whole  case : — "  Think 
not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law  or  the  prophets :  I 
am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil.  For  verily  I  say  unto 
you,  Till  heaven  and  earth  pass,  one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  in  no 
wise  pass  from  the  law,  till  all  be  fulfilled." — Matt.  v.  17,  18. 

Whilst  in  the  very  act  of  attempting  to  explain  away  the 
testimony  of  the  Scriptures  on  this  subject,  Mr.  Barnes  is  forced 
to  admit,  in  the  clearest  terms,  the  very  truth  which  he  repu- 
diates. Respecting  the  language  of  Paul  in  Galatians  iii.  13, 
"  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  beina; 
made  a  curse  for  us;"  he  says,  "The  word  here  used,  and  ren- 
dered curse, — xardpa, — means,  properly,  as  with  us,  cursing, 
malediction,  execration,  a  devoting  or  dooming  to  destruction. 
It  occurs  in  the  New  Testament  in  the  following  places  : — Col. 
iii.  10,  13,  rendered,  curse;  Heb.  vi.  8,  James  iii.  10,  rendered, 
cursing ;  and  2  Pet.  ii.  14,  rendered,  cursed.  It  conveys  the 
idea  of  being  given  over  to  destruction,  or  left  without  those 
influences  which  would  protect  and  save, — as,  a  land  that  is 
given  over  to  the  curse  of  sterility  or  barrenness.  Applied  to 
a  lost  sinner,  it  would  mean  that  all  saving  influences  were 
withdrawn,  and  that  he  was  given  over  to  the  malediction  of 
God.  But  what  is  its  meaning  as  applied  to  the  Redeemer  in 
the  passage  now  before  us?"  After  enumerating  six  state- 
ments which  he  rejects,  he  proceeds  : — "  There  is  but  one  other 
conceivable  meaning  that  can  be  attached  to  the  passage ;  and 
that  is,  that,  though  innocent,  he  was  treated  in  his  death  as  if 
he  had  been  guilty ;  that  is,  he  was  put  to  death  as  if  he  had 
personally  deserved  it."*  Such,  then,  is  the  meaning  of  Paul, 
Mr.  Barnes  himself  being  witness.  And,  now,  we  ask,  What 
is  that  which  he  suffers,  who,  at  the  tribunal  of  the  law,  is 
found  "guilty," — he  who  is  proved  to  be  personally  deserving  to 
die  ?     Is  it  an  infliction  which  the  law  does  not  prescribe,  and 

*  Barnes,  p   294. 


622  The  Elolum  Revealed.  [chap.  xxi. 

of  which,  therefore,  it  can  have  no  cognizance  ?  Or  is  it  that 
which  the  law  finds,  in  its  record,  inscribed  as  the  reward  of 
transgression, — the  very  penalty  of  the  law  ?  It  is  impossible 
that  this  question  should  be  candidly  answered  in  any  but  one 
way.  That  which  sin  deserves, — that  which  the  curse  involved 
and  the  law  inflicts, — is,  and  can  be,  nothing  else  than  the  law's 
penalty.  And  it  the  Son  of  God  endured,  when  he  became  a 
curse ;   so  taking  away  from  us  the  curse  of  the  law. 

Mr.  Barnes  does  not  pretend  to  adduce  a  passage  of  Scripture 
as  denying  Christ  to  have  borne  the  penalty  of  the  law.  This 
fact  is  the  more  significant  in  the  presence  of  the  abundant 
evidence  which  he  cites  in  proof  that  he  came  into  our 
place, — that  he  was  a  substitute  for  us.  Our  place,  certainly, 
was  at  the  bar  of  the  law,  under  sentence  of  condemnation  to 
its  penalty. 

The  argument  upon  which  this  writer  relies,  in  default  of 
Scripture  testimony,  consists  in  the  assumption  that  remorse 
and  eternal  misery  are  essential  elements  of  the  penalty.  These, 
Christ  did  not  realize  :  therefore,  he  did  not  suffer  the  penalty. 
But  the  major  premise  is  false,  and  the  conclusion  therefore  fails. 
The  penalty  of  the  law  is  such  evil  as  it  prescribes,  to  be  in- 
flicted at  its  tribunal,  for  the  vindication  of  its  sovereignty 
against  transgressors.  And  the  question  now  before  us  is, — 
whether  Christ  satisfied  the  law  by  enduring  all  which  it  pre- 
scribed as  the  punishment  of  sin.  That  such  was  the  fact,  we 
have  seen  the  Scriptures  to  be  very  clear.  And  this  is,  in  fact, 
admitted  by  Mr.  Barnes,  with  however  much  reluctance ;  wlion, 
despairing  to  find  any  unsatisfied  provision  in  the  law  itself,  he 
has  recourse  to  observation,  as  to  what  evils  actually  follow,  in 
the  providence  c^f  God,  upon  the  commission  of  sin.  All  these, 
he  assumes  to  be  parts  of  the  law's  penalty.  And  since  among 
these  he  finds  remorse  and  eternal  misery,  he  hence  concludes 
that  Christ  has  not  fulfilled  all.  But  the  penalty  of  a  law  is 
to  be  learned  no  otherwise  than  by  its  own  terms,  as  recorded  in 
the  law.  In  all  cases,  the  rule  is  one;  the  test,  one.  "What 
saith  the  law  ?  How  readest  thou  ?"■  And  that  which  is  not 
inscribed  in  the  statute  is  to  be  left  altogether  out  of  the  ac- 


sect,  vii.]  Christ's  Obedience  to  the  Law.  623 

count,  in  reference  to  the  tribunal  of  the  law  and  the  decrees 
of  justice.  An  example  will  illustrate  the  fallacy  of  Mr.  Barnes' 
appeal.  Two  men  are  arraigned  at  the  bar  of  the  country, 
upon  the  same  criminal  charge.  They  are  found  guilty,  and 
both  sentenced  to  a  like  penalty, — to  serve  an  equal  term  in 
prison.  One  of  these  has  a  prosperous  business,  which  is  ruined, 
a  large  circle  of  friends,  who  are  alienated,  and  a  loving  family, 
which  is  stricken  by  the  shame  of  his  condemnation.  The  other 
has  no  such  calamities  to  encounter.  His  property  is  safely  in- 
vested, beyond  the  reach  of  calamity  ;  his  family  and  friends 
live  at  a  distance,  and  are  ignorant  of  his  dishonour  and  shame. 
"Who  does  not  instantly  see  that  the  extent  of  the  evil  endured 
in  these  cases  is  altogether  disproportionate,  although  the 
penalty  of  the  law  is  precisely  the  same?  In  short,  as  we  have 
elsewhere  seen,  the  consequences  which  result  from  sin  are  de- 
rived only  in  part  from  the  penalty  of  the  law.  They  result, 
partly,  from  the  nature  of  sin  itself;  and  partly,  from  the 
character  and  condition  of  the  sinner.  Neither  remorse  nor 
eternity  of  sorrow  are  of  the  essence  of  the  penalty.  Remorse 
is  that  sense  of  desert  which  results  from  an  apprehension  of  the 
excellence  of  holiness  and  evil  of  sin,  and  consciousness  of 
voluntary  aversion  to  that  excellence  and  embrace  of  that  evil. 
It  is  not  an  evil  prescribed  by  the  law ;  but  arises  from  the  very 
excellence  of  the  moral  nature  in  which  the  sinner  is  clothed, 
and  the  evil  of  the  sin  which  he  has  embraced.  It  is  not  in- 
flicted by  God  the  Judge,  but  grows  out  of  the  constitution 
which  was  made  by  God  the  Creator.  And,  although  it  recog- 
nises, it  does  not  vindicate,  the  sovereignty  of  the  law.  It 
proclaims  it  violated,  but  makes  no  satisfaction  for  the  breach. 
Thus,  wanting  in  every  element  of  the  legal  penalty,  it  is  no 
part  of  it. 

So,  eternity  of  suffering  is  altogether  unessential  to  the  penalty 
of  the  law,  and  dependent  upon  the  nature  and  condition  of  the 
victim.  A  finite  being  cannot  exhaust  an  infinite  curse,  and, 
hence,  must  remain  forever  under  it;  and  a  sinning  creature 
must  continually  incur  new  condemnation,  by  reason  of  continual 
sin.    From  both  these  causes,  it  results  that  the  curse,  as  inflicted 


624  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxi. 

upon  finite  sinners,  involves  them  in  eternal  woe.  But,  when 
the  infinite  sinless  One  bore  the  curse,  a  few  brief  hours  of  con- 
flict exhausted  its  power,  and  proclaimed  death  abolished,  and 
life  and  immortality  brought  to  light. 

It  may  be  asserted  that  the  sufferings  of  Christ  were  enforced 
by  the  law,  and  honouring  to  it,  because  they  were  involved  as 
elements  in  the  proper  penalty,  although  not  exhaustive  of  it. 
The  penalty  of  the  law  was  a  curse,  included  in  which  is  dissolu- 
tion of  the  body.  Such  a  death  of  the  body  he  experienced: 
therefore,  his  sufferings  were  not  something  else  than  the  very 
penalty,  but  a  part  of  it.  But  the  fallacy  of  such  reasoning  is 
obvious.  Either  the  law  retains  its  sovereign  authority  in  un- 
impaired integrity,  or  it  does  not.  If  it  retain  the  throne  of 
judgment  and  the  sceptre  of  power,  its  decrees,  as  enforced,  must 
involve  the  very  infliction  which  their  own  letter  prescribes,  alike 
in  kind  and  extent.  To  deny  this,  is  to  assert  that  some  power 
superior  to  the  law  has  assumed  the  throne,  by  the  interposition 
of  which  the  letter  of  the  law  is  modified  or  set  aside.  But  any 
infliction  resulting  from  such  an  interposition  is  to  be  attributed, 
not  to  the  law,  but  to  the  interposing  power;  and  however,  in 
terms,  it  may  correspond  with  provisions  which  are  contained  in 
the  law,  such  an  infliction,  so  far  from  deriving  authority  from 
the  law,  or  conferring  honour  upon  it,  constitutes  a  signal  pro- 
clamation of  the  dethroning  of  the  law,  and  the  prostration  of  its 
honour  in  the  dust.  If  the  law  have  the  power,  it  will  enforce 
its  own  terms ;  if  it  have  not  power  adequate  to  this,  it  is  a  mere 
deception  to  attribute  any  other  provisions  to  it,  or  to  imagine 
it  satisfied  with  any  thing  else.  It  is  a  "royal  law,"  claiming 
always  the  throne;  and,  if  refused  the  absolute  mastery,  is  inca- 
pable of  assuming  any  subordinate  place.  Either  it  must  reign 
or  perish. 

Before  passing  from  this  point,  we  cannot  but  emphasize  the 
fact  that,  Mr.  Barnes  himself  being  the  judge,  there  is  absolutely 
nothing  found  in  the  letter  of  the  law,  whether  preceptive  or 
penal,  to  which  opposers  can  point,  and  say,  "Christ  did  not 
fulfil  this."  In  order  to  derogate  from  the  perfection  of  his 
work  and  the  completeness  of  his  righteousness,  they  are  con- 


sect,  vii.]  Chrisfs  Obedience  to  the  Law.  625 

strained  to  appeal  to  forms  of  evil,  which,  confessedly,  are  not 
specified  in  the  law.  But  with  these  we  have  no  concern.  If 
the  Son  of  God  has  satisfied  all  the  provisions  which  are  found 
in  the  law  itself,  we  are  satisfied  to  leave  the  other  evils — re- 
morse and  eternal  misery — to  be  disposed  of  by  those  in  whose 
system  they  constitute  features  so  important.  If  these  are  all 
that  can  be  objected,  then  is  the  law,  as  defined  in  its  own  terms, 
fully  satisfied ;  its  whole  precept  has  been  fully  obeyed ;  its  whole 
penalty  endured;  its  dishonoured  crown  restored,  and  its  perfec- 
tion signally  displayed. 

The  fact  that  Christ  was  under  the  curse  of  the  law  is  patent 
on  the  face  of  his  whole  history.  He  was  a  man  of  sorrows,  and 
acquainted  with  grief.  He  suffered  the  persecutions  of  men,  the 
malice  of  hell,  and  the  frown  of  God.  If  these  things  flowed  not 
from  the  penal  sanction  of  the  law,  whence  did  they  come?  Is 
there  any  other  fountain  of  sorrow  and  woe  beside  its  curse  ?  Is 
it  possible  for  the  frown  of  God  to  be  realized  any  otherwise  than 
in  conformity  with  the  decrees  of  justice?  Then  is  justice  itself 
dethroned,  and  the  glorious  rectitude  of  the  Holy  One  enshrouded 
in  impenetrable  darkness.  Then  cannot  the  fullest  consciousness 
of  perfect  integrity,  and  unwavering  fidelity  and  obedience,  as- 
sure any  creature  of  the  favour  of  his  Maker.  Either  the  Medi- 
ator bore  the  curse  for  the  sins  of  his  people, — either  his  suffer- 
ings were  enforced  by  law  and  justice,  or  in  violation  of  them; 
but,  if  the  latter,  then  is  God's  whole  administration  over- 
shadowed with  a  pall  of  utter  night,  and  the  creatures  must 
gaze  upon  the  awful  throne  of  the  Almighty  with  mingled  emo- 
tions of  distrust,  and  terror,  and  utter  despair,  uncertain  where 
or  why  the  undiscriminating  stroke  of  woe  will  next  descend ! 

A  glance  at  the  several  elements  in  which  the  atoning  work 
of  Christ  consisted,  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  completeness  of 
§  8.  Particu-  ms  satisfaction  to  the  claims  of  the  law.  As  to  his 
lan  of  Ms  hu-  active  obedience,  the  case  is  soon  stated.  By  the 
especial  ordering  of  God's  providence,  he  was  subject 
to  the  authority  of  three  distinct  tribunals,  at  each  of  which  he 
was  tried  and  justified.  He  was  a  subject  of  the  civil  law  of 
Pi,ome,  as  administered  by  Pilate  and  Herod;  and,  in  the  judg- 

40 


626  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxi. 

ment-hall,  Pilate  testified,  to  the  Jews,  that  he  was  free  from  all 
just  charge  of  crime: — "Ye  have  brought  this  man  unto  me,  as 
one  that  perverteth  the  people;  and  behold,  I,  having  examined 
him  before  you,  have  found  no  fault  in  this  man,  touching  those 
things  whereof  ye  accuse  him;  no,  nor  yet  Herod:  for  I  sent  you 
to  him;  and  lo,  nothing  worthy  of  death  is  done  unto  him." — 
Luke  xxiii.  14,  15.  And,  when  his  expostulations  only  excited 
tumult,  "he  took  water,  and  washed  his  hands  before  the  multi- 
tude, saying,  I  am  innocent  of  the  blood  of  this  just  person; 
(6/i£?c  oipeade,)  bear  ye  witness." — Matt,  xxvii.  24.  Thus  em- 
phatically did  the  civil  magistrate  attest  his  righteousness. 

He  was  subject  to  the  Mosaic  law,  as  dispensed  by  the  great 
council  of  Israel,  which  "sat  in  Moses'  seat."  Before  that  tri- 
bunal he  was  called;  and,  with  the  zeal  of  unscrupulous  malig- 
nity, inquest  was  made,  for  some  charge  which  even  perjury 
could  establish.  "  The  chief  priests  and  all  the  council  sought 
for  witness  against  Jesus  to  put  him  to  death,  and  found  none. 
For  many  bare  false  witness  against  him,  but  their  witness 
agreed  not  together." — Mark  xiv.  55,  56.  In  the  whole  course 
of  his  ministry,  his  enemies  the  scribes  and  priests  did  not  pre- 
tend to  make  a  charge  of  violating  any  law  but  their  unscriptural 
traditions.  And  when  thus  tried  before  the  sanhedrim,  they  are 
at  last  compelled,  in  despair,  to  abandon  the  attempt  to  prove 
any  thing  against  him;  and,  out  of  his  own  mouth,  convict  him 
of  blasphemy  for  claiming  to  be  the  Son  of  God.  Thus  did  the 
very  malignity  of  his  accusers  serve  to  attest  the  spotless  right- 
eousness of  him  who,  having  come  not  to  destroy  the  law  of 
Moses,  but  to  fulfil  it,  was  faithful  until  death. 

Jesus  was  subject  to  the  moral  law,  at  the  tribunal  of  God,  the 
omniscient  and  righteous  Judge.  And,  of  his  perfect  conformity 
to  it,  he  had  testimony  as  signal  as  in  either  of  the  other  cases. 
After  he  had  spent  thirty  years,  in  fulfilment  of  the  duties  of  a 
son,  a  brother,  and  a  citizen  in  private  life,  he  had  the  attestation 
of  a  voice  from  heaven.  At  his  baptism,  not  only  did  the  Spirit 
openly  appear  in  the  form  of  a  dove  which  descended  upon  him, 
but  "  a  voice  came  from  heaven,  which  said,  Thou  art  my  be- 
loved Son,  in  thee  I  am  well  pleased." — Luke  iii.  22.     Again, 


sect,  vni.]  Christ's  Obedience  to  the  Laic.  627 

when  his  ministry  was  nearly  closed,  in  the  mount  of  transfigura- 
tion he  received  a  similar  attestation.  To  this,  his  perfect  con- 
formity to  the  law  of  God,  the  Father  also  bore  witness,  in  that 
he  raised  him  from  the  dead. 

In  respect  to  the  particulars  of  the  curse,  which  was  laid  upon 
the  Mediator,  the  evidence  is  equally  clear.  If  the  curse  in- 
volved a  forfeiture  of  all  right  to  possessions  on  earth, — ex- 
tremest  poverty  was  his  portion,  from  the  cradle  to  the  cross. 
Cradled  in  the  manger  of  the  public  inn, — realizing  through 
life  a  destitution  respecting  which  he  says,  ''The  foxes  have 
holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  air  have  nests;  but  the  Son  of  man 
hath  not  where  to  lay  his  head," — Matt.  viii.  20, — he  was  in- 
debted, for  the  very  sepulchre  in  which  he  lay,  to  the  charity  of 
Joseph  of  Arimathea.  If  sorrow  and  toil  were  comprehended 
in  the  sentence  pronounced  on  our  first  parents,  toil  and  sorrow 
were  the  unvarying  portion  of  the  Son  of  Mary.  In  the  labours 
of  his  trade,  the  carpenter  of  Nazareth  earned  his  bread  by  the 
sweat  of  his  brow ;  and  in  the  weariness  of  his  toilsome  ministry 
he  filled  the  measure  of  that  portion  of  the  curse ;  whilst,  always, 
he  was  "a  man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief." — Isa.  liii. 
3.  Grief  in  the  sorrows  of  others;  grief  from  the  bereavements 
of  death;  grief  from  beholding  the  wickedness  of  the  wicked, 
and  from  a  true  apprehension  of  the  fearfulness  of  their  doom ; 
grief  in  anticipation  and  experience  of  the  unfaithfulness  and 
desertion  of  his  cherished  friends,  and  the  treason  of  one  who 
ate  at  his  table;  grief  caused  by  the  unrelenting  hate  and  un- 
tiring persecution  which  pursued  him  from  the  cradle  to  the 
grave,  urged  by  those  in  pity  for  whom  he  bore  it  all : — these 
were  some  of  the  elements  of  the  mingled  cup  of  bitterness  which 
was  drained  by  the  incarnate  Son  of  God.  In  short,  if  the  sen- 
tence of  justice  abandons  the  sinner  to  the  power  of  Satan,  whom 
he  has  chosen  rather  than  God, — if  it  condemns  him  to  death, — 
if  it  denounces  against  him  the  very  frown,  the  wrath  and  curse, 
of  God  himself: — all  these  Jesus  endured.  Borne  to  the  wilder- 
ness, and  exhausted  by  a  fast  of  forty  days,  he  is  left  to  contend 
with  all  the  wiles  of  the  adversary.  Again,  in  the  "hour  and 
power  of  darkness,"  he  is  called  to  wrestle  in  the  garden,  with 


628  The  Elohvm  Revealed.  [chap.  xxi. 

the  assaults  of  the  malignant  foe  of  God  and  man.  In  that  same 
hour,  his  cry  of  agony,  and  his  gushing  blood,  bedewing  his  per- 
son, attest  his  experience  of  the  burden  of  omnipotent  wrath : — 
"0  my  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me: 
nevertheless,  not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt." — Matt.  xxvi.  39. 
On  the  cross,  we  have  the  most  unequivocal  testimony,  that  in 
addition  to  all,  beside,  which  he  endured, — the  agony  of  cruci- 
fixion,— the  malignant  scoffs  of  his  enemies, — the  mockings  of 
devils, — the  desertion  of  his  friends, — he  was  called  to  realize 
the  frown  of  his  Father, — the  wrath  of  the  Almighty.  "My 
God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?"  And  when  he 
cried,  "  It  is  finished,"  and  yielded  himself  into  the  hands  of 
death — the  executioner,  commissioned  by  the  law; — when  he 
was  borne  to  the  sepulchre,  we  see  consummate,  and  signalized 
to  the  observation  of  every  creature,  the  fact  that  he  bore  the 
curse  and  paid  our  debt,  to  the  uttermost  farthing. 

In  respect  to  the  assaults  of  Satan,  as  endured  by  the  Son  of 
God,  there  are  some  points  which  demand  special  attention.  In 
,  9  His  con_  submitting  himself  to  them,  Jesus  sustained  several 
flictswithSa-  relations,  which  are  to  be  discriminated  from  each 
tan-  other.   (1.)  He  was  the  vicarious  substitute,  to  atone 

for  the  sins  of  the  world,  to  the  justice  of  God ;  and,  as  such, 
exposed  to  this,  as  an  element  in  the  curse.  (2.)  He  was  a  party 
in  covenant  with  God,  to  the  fulfilment  of  a  perfect  righteous- 
ness. And,  as  the  first  Adam  must  meet  the  temptations  of 
Satan,  in  order  to  experiment  and  demonstration  of  his  un- 
wavering faithfulness  to  the  terms  of  the  covenant  which  was 
made  with  him,  so  must  the  second  Adam  give  equal  proof  of 
fidelity  to  his  engagements.  _  (3.)  He  was  God's  chosen  cham- 
pion; ordained  to  avenge  the  cause  of  God,  on  man's  behalf, 
against  the  enemy  of  God  and  seducer  of  man.  This  latter 
conception  of  the  office  and  work  of  Christ  is  comprehensive  of 
both  the  others ;  and  in  it,  accordingly,  he  was  announced  in 
the  original  threatening  against  the  serpent,  and  promise  to  the 
fallen  pair  : — "  I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and  the  woman, 
and  between  thy  seed  and  her  Seed :  it  shall  bruise  thy  head, 
and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel." — Gen.  iii.  15.     The  fulfilment 


sect,  viii.]         Christ's  Obedience  to  the  Law.  629 

of  this  primeval  promise  comprehends  the  entire  work  of  the 
Son  of  God.  Looking  at  it  as  having  respect  to  his  immediate 
relations  to  Satan,  it  involves  three  points.  These  are, — the  sub- 
mission of  himself,  unseduced,  to  all  the  arts  of  Satan's  temp- 
tations; the  exposure  of  his  person  to  the  malice  of  the  enemy, 
and  victory  over  it  all,  through  the  triumph  of  a  complete 
and  untarnished  righteousness;  and  the  acquisition  and  exer- 
cise, by  him,  as  man,  of  a  right  to  employ  the  power  of  his 
divinity,  in  the  rescue  of  his  people  from  the  bondage  of  Satan, 
and  in  the  overthrow  and  utter  destruction  of  the  enemy.  That 
right  was  acquired  by  him  through  the  fulfilment  of  the  right- 
eousness of  the  covenant  under  which  he  performed  his  ministry 
on  earth. 

As  illustrative  of  the  general  principles  here  stated,  there  are 
some  very  remarkable  facts  in  the  sacred  record.  Our  first 
parents  were  seduced  severally  alone.  So  was  Jesus  required 
to  meet  the  tempter,  alone,  in  the  solitude  of  the  wilderness,  and 
in  the  midnight  seclusion  and  silence  of  the  garden.  The 
seductions  by  which  the  serpent  triumphed  over  our  frail  mother 
were  three, — sensual  pleasure,  proposed  in  the  attractive  fruit 
of  the  forbidden  tree;  distrust  in  God's  truth  and  goodness; 
and  an  unhallowed  ambition, — "  Ye  shall  be  as  gods."  The  same 
are  the  weapons  by  which  the  arch-adversary  hopes  to  over- 
come the  woman's  Seed.  Armed  with  the  skill  of  four  thousand 
years'  experience  of  the  human  heart, — confident  in  arts  which 
had  never  known  defeat  in  leading  men  astray, — and  actuated 
by  pride  and  fear  and  intensest  hate,  as  he  knows,  in  Him  of 
Nazareth,  the  Seed  whose  coming  he  had  learned  so  long  to 
dread, — the  tempter  comes  to  Jesus,  enfeebled  and  faint  with  a 
fast  of  forty  days.  He  proposes  to  him,  not  the  indulgence  of 
unlawful  appetites,  but  the  supply  of  those  that  were  lawful : — 
"  If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  command  that  these  stones  be 
made  bread." — Matt.  iv.  3.  But  it  is  the  fruit  of  the  forbidden 
tree.  God's  power  had  borne  him  to  that  solitude ;  and  his  will 
had  imposed  the  fast.  And  the  miraculous  powers  of  the  Son 
of  man  were  his,  not  for  the  gratification  of  his  own  appetites, 
nor  for  the  satisfaction  of  Satan's  demands,  but  for  the  Father's 


630  The  Mohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxi. 

glory.  To  have  assented  would  have  been  to  cast  off  the  cross  ; 
and  Jesus  replies,  "It  is  written,  Man  shall  not  live  by  bread 
alone,  but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth 
of  God."  The  next  attempt  is  to  induce  distrust  in  God.  "He 
taketh  him  up  into  the  holy  city,  and  setteth  him  on  a  pinnacle 
of  the  temple,  and  saith  unto  him,  If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God, 
cast  thyself  down :  for  it  is  written,  He  shall  give  his  angels  charge 
concerning  thee :  and  in  their  hands  they  shall  bear  thee  up,  lest 
at  any  time  thou  dash  thy  foot  against  a  stone."  To  make  gra- 
tuitous experiment  of  God's  faithfulness,  is  to  distrust  it. 
"  Jesus  said  unto  him,  It  is  written  again,  Thou  shalt  not  tempt 
the  Lord  thy  God."  The  previous  approaches  of  Satan  were 
covert.  But,  despairing  of  success  in  that  form,  the  devil  now 
casts  off  disguise,  announces  himself,  and  appeals  to  the  ambi- 
tion of  the  carpenter's  son,  by  holding  up  before  him  the  glit- 
tering prize  of  wealth  and  dominion.  "Again,  the  devil  taketh 
him  up  into  an  exceeding  high  mountain,  and  sheweth  him  all 
the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  and  the  glory  of  them;  and  saith 
unto  him,  All  these  things  will  I  give  thee,  if  thou  wilt  fall 
down  and  worship  me.  Then  saith  Jesus  unto  him,  Get  thee 
hence,  Satan  :  for  it  is  written,  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy 
God,  and  him  only  shalt  thou  serve."  Jesus  had  of  his  own 
will  submitted  to  the  assaults  of  the  tempter.  He  now  asserts 
his  authority  over  him.  The  words,  "Get  thee  hence,  Satan," 
were  imperative;  and  the  devil  "departed  from  him  (a^oi  xacpou) 
until  the  time." — Luke  iv.  13.  The  authority  of  the  injunction 
thus  imposed  was  effectual  throughout  the  entire  ministry  of 
Christ;  during  the  whole  of  which  his  control  was  asserted,  in 
the  most  imperative  form,  over  all  the  power  of  the  enemy. 

When  the  time  drew  nigh  that  the  mediatorial  obedience 
should  be  finished,  Satan  was  permitted  again  to  assail  the  Son 
§  10.  His  last  of  man,  and  to  engage  with  him  in  a  final  struggle. 
conflict.  jje  ka(j  not  1^^  prevented  at  any  time  from  indulg- 

ing in  machinations  against  the  Eedeemer.  Two  of  the  evange- 
lists, Luke  and  John,  state  distinctly  his  agency  in  the  treachery 
of  Judas.  He  seems  first  to  have  proposed  the  treason  to  the 
son  of  perdition,  upon  occasion  of  the  feast  at  the  house  of  Simon 


sect,  ix.]  Christ's  Obedience  to  the  Laiv.  631 

the  leper,  three  days  before  the  crucifixion.  A  woman  having 
anointed  Jesus  with  a  precious  ointment,  the  avarice  of  Judas 
impelled  him  to  a  hypocritical  expression  of  indignation  at  the 
waste  of  what  might  better  have  been  given  to  the  poor, — "not 
that  he  cared  for  the  poor,  but  because  he  was  a  thief,  and  had 
the  bag,  and  bare  what  was  put  therein." — John  xii.  6.  He  was 
thereupon  rebuked  by  Jesus,  and  the  woman  vindicated.  A  com- 
parison of  Matthew  xxvi.  14,  and  Mark  xiv.  10,  with  Luke  xxii. 
3,  seems  to  indicate  this  to  have  been  the  occasion  seized  by  Satan 
to  suggest  to  Judas  an  easy  way  of  gratifying  at  once  his  malice 
and  avarice: — "Then  entered  Satan  into  Judas.  .  .  .  And  he  went 
his  way,  and  communed  with  the  chief  priests  and  captains,  how 
he  might  betray  him  unto  them." — Luke  xxii.  3,  4.  On  the  night 
of  the  betrayal,  Jesus  having  secretly,  to  the  beloved  John,  made 
known  the  traitor,  by  giving  him  the  sop,  the  evangelist  states, 
that,  "after  the  sop,  (tots,)  then  entered  Satan  into  him.  Then 
said  Jesus  unto  him,  That  thou  doest,  do  quickly." — John  xiii. 
27.  Strong  reasons  might  be  given  for  the  opinion  that  this  ad- 
dress of  our  Saviour  was  designed  personally  for  Satan.  That 
the  devil  was  personally  present,  is  unquestionable.  That  he  be- 
came the  controlling  agent  in  Judas,  immediately  upon  his  recep- 
tion of  the  sop,  is  also  certain.  Our  Lord  undoubtedly  knew 
this.  His  address  to  Judas  had  reference  to  the  treason  which, 
under  the  instigation  of  Satan,  he  was  designing.  The  change 
of  pronoun  from  ixetvoz,  which  in  the  27th  and  29th  verses 
designates  Judas,  to  auroz,  (Aiyet  ouu  abzCo  b  '/jytfouc,)  seems  also 
to  require  the  recognition  of,  Satan,  the  nearest  noun,  as  the 
proper  antecedent.  "After  the  sop,  then  entered  (i«;  ixstvov) 
into  him,  Satan.  Jesus  therefore  said  (auzco)  to  him,  (that  is,  to 
Satan,)  What  thou  doest,  do  quickly."*     Even  if  this  interpre- 

*  A  writer  in  The  Spirit  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  for- October,  1842,  p.  466, 
by  a  number  of  forcible  arguments,  sustains  the  position  that  Satan  entered 
personally  into  Judas  at  the  time  here  designated.  To  them  may  be  added  the 
manner  in  which  the  preposition  is  repeated  in  the  text, — (naf/Wev  e<f  ckeIvov  6 
Zaravag.)  We  have  had  occasion,  in  another  place,  to  indicate  the  fact  that,  in 
the  New  Testament,  the  phrase,  eloijWev  fir,  is  invariably  expressive  of  a  proper 
entrance  into  the  object  which  is  governed  by  the  preposition.  See,  for  example, 
Mark  ix.  25,  and  John  xx.  4-6. 


632  The  Eloltlm  Revealed.  [chap.  xxi. 

tation  be  rejected,  and  the  language  of  our  Saviour  be  supposed 
to  have  primary  reference  to  Judas,  it  is  still  certain  that  it  not 
only  conveyed  to  him  liberty  to  pursue  his  treacherous  purpose, 
— it  not  only  withdrew  from  him  all  restraining  influences,  but  in- 
volved a  like  liberation  of  Satan,  whose  willing  and  entire  instru- 
ment Judas  had  now  become.  Accordingly,  he,  having  received 
the  sop,  went  immediately  out.  He  hastens  to  the  priests,  to 
complete  his  plans,  whilst  Satan  awaits  the  opportunity  for  his 
final  assault. 

The  season  of  the  last  fearful  encounter,  between  the  Prince 
of  light  and  the  power  of  darkness,  comprehends  the  period  from 
the  withdrawal  to  Gethsemane  until  the  cry — "It  is  finished" — 
on  the  cross.  During  this  whole  time,  all  his  enemies,  human 
and  Satanic,  were  engaged  in  one  combined  and  desperate  en- 
deavour to  overcome  and  destroy  the  Son  of  God.  "Whilst  the 
rage  of  men  assailed  his  person,  the  deeper  hate  of  Satan  arrayed 
itself  against  his  yet  unsullied  righteousness ;  and  strove,  by  mar- 
ring that,  at  once  to  destroy  utterly  him  and  the  world,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  triumph  by  the  prostration  in  the  dust  of  the 
Father's  purposes  of  grace  to  man  and  glory  to  himself.  In  all 
the  transactions,  Satan  was  the  master-spirit,  acting  under  a  full 
sense  of  the  extremity  of  his  cause,  and  with  full  allowance  to 
bring  all  his  resources  to  bear,  in  the  vain  endeavour  to  defeat 
the  redeeming  grace  of  God,  and  to  subdue  the  woman's  Seed. 
"This,"  said  Jesus  to  the  officers,  "is  your  hour,  and  the  power 
of  darkness." — Luke  xxii.  53.  (Compare  Acts  xxvi.  18;  2  Cor. 
iv.  4;  Eph.  ii.  2;  Col.  i.  13.)  Of  the  precise  nature  of  the  spiritual 
assaults  to  which  Jesus  was  exposed  during  this  time,  the  evan- 
gelists give  us  but  little  information.  Much  light,  however,  is 
shed  upon  the  subject,  by  the  twenty-second  and  sixty-ninth 
Psalms,  the  subject  of  which  is  the  passion  of  our  Saviour.  By 
a  comparison  of  these  Psalms  with  the  statements  of  the  evan- 
gelists, we  learn  that  this  final  and  desperate  onset  of  Satan  as- 
sumed a  form  at  once  suited  to  the  present  gratification  of  his 
malignant  hate,  and  presenting  the  only  remaining  resource  by 
which  he  could  ever  hope  for  success  in  seducing  Christ  from 
the  path  of  holy  obedience.     The  time  was  now  come  when 


sect,  x.]  Christ's  Obedience  to  the  Law.  633 

justice  must  verify  the  words  of  the  prophet: — "Awake,  0 
sword;  against  my  Shepherd,  and  against  the  man  that  is  my 
fellow,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts:  smite  the  Shepherd,  and  the 
sheep  shall  be  scattered." — Zech.  xiii.  7.  The  hour  was  come 
in  which  our  Surety  must  experience  the  Father's  desertion. 
The  dark  and  polluted  robe  of  our  sins  covers  him;  and,  whilst 
his  soul  is  filled  with  loathing  and  abhorrence  of  their  blackness 
and  enormity,  he  is  numbered  with  the  transgressors,  and  chal- 
lenged, as  a  debtor,  to  give  satisfaction  for  the  whole.  The  spot- 
less Lamb,  the  loving  Son  of  God,  is  called  to  realize  the  bitter- 
ness of  the  Father's  frown,  and  feel  the  burden  of  his  wrath. 
Seizing  such  an  hour  as  this,  Satan  and  all  his  legions  combine 
their  powers,  with  malignant  skill,  in  a  furious  assault,  aiming 
to  render  his  distress  altogether  intolerable,  and  excite  in  him 
impatience  under  the  burden,  or  distrust  and  despair  of  the 
Father's  faithfulness  and  love.  Thus,  he  complains,  "Many 
bulls  have  compassed  me ;  strong  bulls  of  Bashan  have  beset  me 
round-.  They  gaped  upon  me  with  their  mouths,  as  a  ravening 
and  a  roaring  lion.  I  am  poured  out  like  water,  and  all  my 
bones  are  out  of  joint:  my  heart  is  like  wax;  it  is  melted  in  the 
midst  of  my  bowels.  My  strength  is  dried  up  like  a  potsherd; 
and  my  tongue  cleaveth  to  my  jaws;  and  thou  hast  brought  me 
into  the  dust  of  death.  For  dogs  have  compassed  me :  the  as- 
sembly of  the  wicked  have  enclosed  me :  they  pierced  my  hands 
and  my  feet.  .  .  .  Deliver  my  soul  from  the  sword,  my  darling  from 
the  power  of  the  dog.  Save  me  from  the  lion's  mouth :  for  thou 
hast  heard  me  from  the  horns  of  the  unicorns." — Psalm  xxii.  12- 
21.  " They  persecute  him  whom  thou  hast  smitten;  and  they 
talk  to  the  grief  of  those  whom  thou  hast  wounded." — Psalm 
lxix.  26.  "All  they  that  see  me  laugh  me  to  scorn:  they  shoot 
out  the  lip,  they  shake  the  head,  saying,  He  trusted  on  the  Lord 
that  he  would  deliver  him :  let  him  deliver  him,  seeing  he  de- 
lighted in  him." — Psalm  xxii.  7,  8.  Viewed  in  the  light  of  these 
Scriptures,  what  a  scene  is  unveiled  before  us !  Prostrate  in  the 
garden  lies  the  innocent  One.  The  Father's  face  is  hidden;  the 
sword  of  justice  flames  on  high;  the  storm  of  wrath  gathers  its 
fury;  the  cup  of  indignation  is  put  to  his  lips.     Condemned  and 


634  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxt. 

forsaken  of  God,  he  seeks  the  sympathy  of  beloved  disciples ;  but 
they  are  asleep.  Alone, — forsaken  and  accursed  of  God,  be- 
trayed and  deserted  of  men, — he  is  left  to  endure  the  mockings 
of  the  hosts  of  hell.  They  gnash  upon  him,  and  cry,  "  God  hath 
forsaken  him :  persecute  and  take  him,  for  there  is  none  to  deliver 
him." — Ps.  lxxi.  11.  His  wrestlings  with  the  Father  are  mocked 
by  the  demand,  "Where  is  thy  God?"  "And  being  in  an  agony, 
he  prayed  more  earnestly :  and  his  sweat  was  as  it  were  great 
drops  of  blood,  falling  down  to  the  ground." — Luke  xxii.  44. 
Yet,  in  perfect  acquiescence  to  the  Father's  will,  he  cries,  "0  my 
Father,  if  this  cup  may  not  pass  away  from  me,  except  I  drink 
it,  thy  will  be  done." — Matt.  xxvi.  42.  He  is  seized  and  led 
away  by  the  officers,  guided  by  one  of  his  cherished  followers. 
His  disciples  all  forsake  him  and  flee.  Even  Peter,  with  cursing 
and  swearing,  denies  and  disowns  him.  A  victim  to  outrage  and 
indignity,  in  the  presence  of  the  great  council  of  Israel;  rejected 
by  his  people,  with  the  cry,  "Away  with  him!  crucify  him!" 
mocked  by  Herod  and  his  men  of  war ;  condemned  and  scourged 
by  Pilate ;  pursued  to  Calvary  by  the  execrations  of  the  hooting 
mob;  nailed  to  the  tree  of  ignominy,  between  two  thieves;  the 
temptations  of  Satan,  re-echoed  by  the  passing  scribes  and  priests, 
who  wag  their  heads  and  say,  "  He  saved  others ;  himself  he  can- 
not save.  If  he  be  the  King  of  Israel,  let  him  now  come  down 
from  the  cross,  and  we  will  believe  him.  He  trusted  in  God: 
let  him  deliver  him  now  if  he  will  have  him :  for  he  said,  I  am 
the  Son  of  God," — Matt,  xxvii.  41—43;  through  all  constrained 
to  bear  the  heavier  burden  of  the  Father's  frown, — what  sorrow 
like  to  his  sorrow?  Surely,  it  is  not  in  man  to  endure,  with 
perfect  acquiescence,  the  will  by  which  he  was  afflicted  thus;  to 
stand  faithful  to  Him  that  appointed  him  to  the  cross,  and  confi- 
dent in  the  love  and  truth  of  Him  who  concealed  his  face  behind 
a  cloud,  dark  as  that  which  frowned  on  Calvary.  But  Jesus  was 
faithful  to  the  end ;  and,  when  his  work  and  conflict  was  finished, 
not  by  the  power  of  men  nor  devils  was  his  life  taken  away ;  nor 
into  their  hands  did  he  surrender  his  soul;  but  to  the  Father  he 
commits  it,  until  the  resurrection  morning,  then  to  be  resumed 
again.    When  he  had  received  the  vinegar,  he  said,  "  It  is  finished. 


sect,  x.]  Christ's  Obedience  to  the  Laiv.  635 

Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit:"  and,  having  said 
thus,  he  gave  up  the  ghost.  (John  xix.  30,  and  Luke  xxiii.  46.) 
Thus  was  Jesus  obedient  until  death.  The  cry,  "It  is  finished!" 
was  the  exultant  shout  of  victory:  which  proclaimed  Satan's 
sceptre  broken,  his  power  destroyed,  and  man's  salvation  com- 
plete. 

In  respect  to  the  significance  of  this  language  of  the  expiring 
Eedeemer,  as  indicating  a  finished  work,  and  completed  right- 
g  n.  "it  is  eousness  of  the  law,  the  evidence  is  very  pointed 
finished."  anc{  conclusive.  "We  have  seen  how  full  the  testi- 
mony to  the  fact  that  such  was  the  purpose  of  the  Father  in 
sending  the  Son,  and  the  design  of  the  Son  in  coming  into  the 
world, — to  magnify  the  law,  work  a  perfect  righteousness,  and 
make  atonement  for  sin.  Such  were  the  terms  of  his  commis- 
sion, and  of  the  covenant  under  which  he  came.  In  reference  to 
his  appointment  to  fulfil  these  ends,  Jesus,  in  his  prayer  at  the 
supper,  anticipating  the  scenes  of  the  next  day  as  already  past, 
says,  "Father,  I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou  gavest  me 
to  do." — John  xvii.  4.  And,  now,  on  the  cross,  we  are  told  by 
John,  that  after  the  cry,  "Eli!  Eli!  lama  sabacthani!" — "Jesus, 
knowing  that  all  things  were  now  accomplished,  that  the  Scrip- 
ture might  be  fulfilled,  saith,  I  thirst.  Now,  there  was  set  a 
vessel  full  of  vinegar ;  and  they  filled  a  sponge  with  vinegar,  and 
put  it  upon  hyssop,  and  put  it  to  his  mouth.  When  Jesus, 
therefore,  had  received  the  vinegar,  he  said,  It  is  finished." — 
John  xix.  28-30.  To  all  this,  add  the  language  of  the  risen 
Eedeemer  to  his  assembled  disciples: — "These  are  the  words 
which  I  spake  unto  you,  while  I  was  yet  with  you,  That  all  things 
must  be  fulfilled  which  were  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  and 
in  the  prophets,  and  in  the  Psalms,  concerning  me." — Luke 
xxiv.  44.  If,  then,  Messiah  was  foretold,  in  the  Old  Testament, 
as  he  who  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head, — if  he  was  predicted 
as  he  who  should  magnify  the  law  and  make  it  honourable, — if  he 
was  "  to  finish  the  transgression,  and  to  make  an  end  of  sins,  and 
to  make  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  and  to  bring  in  everlasting 
righteousness," — Dan.  ix.  24; — if  he  came  to  make  his  soul  an 
offering  for  sin, — to  suffer  the  chastisement  of  our  peace,  that 


636  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxi. 

we  with  his  stripes  may  be  healed, — the  word,  "It  is  finished," 
attests  all  this  complete.  Satan  is  destroyed.  The  law  is  obeyed ; 
its  curse  endured;  its  claims  all  satisfied;  its  authority  esta- 
blished, magnified  and  made  honourable.  The  honour  of  God's 
wisdom,  goodness,  power  and  justice,  impeached  and  assailed  by 
Satan,  through  man,  is  vindicated  in  the  overthrow  and  destruc- 
tion of  Satan  himself;  in  the  defeat  of  all  his  designs  against 
man;  and  the  employment  of  his  very  malignity  and  hostile 
power,  as  the  occasion  and  means  of  greater  blessings  to  man, 
and  higher  glory  to  God.  The  eternal  covenant,  by  the  provi- 
sions of  which  the  Son  was.  sent  to  earth,  and  engaged  in  the 
conflict  with  Satan,  is  fulfilled;  all  its  provisions  of  humiliation 
are  met;  and  the  Son  has  acquired  the  title  to  all  the  glory, 
power  and  salvation  therein  promised. 

If  further  evidence  is  demanded  of  a  finished  legal  right- 
eousness accomplished  by  Christ,  it  is  presented  in  his  resur- 
rection. 

"  In  his  blessed  life 
I  see  the  path,  and  in  his  death  the  price, 
And  in  his  great  ascent  the  proof  supreme, 
Of  immortality. — And  did  he  rise  ? — 
Hear,  0  ye  nations  !  hear  it,  0  ye  dead  ! 
He  rose  !  he  rose !  he  burst  the  bars  of  Death !" — Young. 

Vain  the  machinations  of  priests  and  princes.  Vain  the  stone, 
the  seal,  the  glittering  guard.  The  dawning  comes  of  that  first 
day  of  the  week !  And  lo !  a  mighty  angel — whilst  the  earth 
quakes  at  his  presence,  and  the  terrified  soldiery  flee  from  his 
face — descends,  and  rolls  back  the  stone,  and  awaits  the  coming 
forth  of  the  Mightier  than  he,  who  condescends  to  lie  imprisoned 
there.  Thus  the  second  Adam  arose.  He  had  descended  into 
the  very  den  of  death,  and  yielded  himself  to  the  very  jaws  of 
the  grave,  only  to  make  his  victory  complete.  He  laid  down 
his  life,  that  he  might  take  it  again.  Now  is  death  swallowed 
up  in  victory,  and  life  and  immortality  are  brought  to  light. 
He  is  the  first  fruits  of  them  that  slept, — the  first  born  from  the 
dead.  Prior  to  him,  some  had  indeed  been  recalled  to  life. 
But  it  was  only  for  a  season,  again  to  return  to  the  dust.     But 


sect,  xi.]  Christ's  Obedience  to  the  Law.  637 

"Christ,  being  raised  from  the  dead,  dieth  no  more;  death  hath 
no  more  dominion  over  him." — Rom.  vi.  9.  Not  to  the  grave 
shall  he  ever  return;  but  on  high  he  ascends.  Go,  stand  with 
the  adoring  apostles.  Go,  listen  as  they,  listened  to  his  loving 
words,  of  grace  and  salvation.  "Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it 
behooved  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  from  the  dead  the  third 
day;  and  that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be  preached 
in  his  name  among  all  nations,  beginning  at  Jerusalem.  And  ye 
are  witnesses  of  these  things. . .  .  And  he  led  them  out  as  far  as  to 
Bethany,  and  he  lifted  up  his  hands,  and  blessed  them.  And  it 
came  to  pass,  while  he  blessed  them,  he  was  parted  from  them 
and  carried  up  into  heaven." — Luke  xxiv.  46-51.  "  God  is  gone 
up  with  a  shout!  the  Lord  with  the  sound  of  a  trumpet!" — 
Psalm  xlvii.  5.  Come  forth  to  meet  him,  ye  ransomed  hosts, 
Abraham  and  all  thy  sons !  He  is  the  Son  of  Abraham,  the  Son 
of  man.  Death  is  abolished; — Satan  is  destroyed; — and  redemp- 
tion complete!  "Lift  up  your  heads,  0  ye  gates;  even  lift 
them  up,  ye  everlasting  doors,  and  the  King  of  glory  shall  come 
in." — Psalm  xxiv.  9. 

If,  "in  that  he  died,  he  died  unto  sin  once;" — Rom.  vi.  10; — if 
he  "hath  appeared  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself," 
and  "was  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many;"  — Heb.  ix. 
26,  28; — if,  by  law,  "the  wages  of  sin  is  death;" — Rom.  vi.  23; 
— then,  unquestionably,  the  resurrection  of  the  second  Adam  is 
proof  conclusive,  that  the  sins  for  which  he  died  are  atoned  for 
and  taken  away, — that  the  wages  of  sin  are  fully  paid,  and  the 
demands  of  the  law  wholly  satisfied.  Henceforth,  let  Jehovah- 
Tsidkenu, — The  Lord  our  righteousness,  be  the  song  of  all 
his  people. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE   LAST  ADAM   A   QUICKENING   SPIEIT. 

We  have  seen  that  one  controlling  reason  why  the  Mediator 
must  assume  a  part  in  our  nature,  and  put  on  a  true  humanity, 
g  l.  Effectual  was  in  order  that  his  human  nature,  might  be  a  fit- 
caiiing.  ting  temple  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  might  dwell, 

making  it  the  fountain  of  his  influences  and  the  seat  of  his  re- 
deeming power.  It  is  in  reference  to  this  endowment  of  the 
person  of  Christ  with  the  fulness  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  influences 
thence  resulting,  that  Paul  draws  that  remarkable  contrast  be- 
tween the  first  Adam  and  the  second: — "The  first  man  Adam 
was  made  (ei<;  ^ity  C^<Tav)  to  be  a  living  soul,  the  last  Adam 
(ei<;  7:veu/M  ^oyoitocouv)  to  be  a  quickening  spirit.  .  .  .  The  first 
man  is  of  the  earth,  earthy;  the  second  man  is  the  Lord  from 
heaven.  As  is  the  earthy,  such  are  they  also  that  are  earthy; 
and  as  is  the  heavenly,  such  are  they  also  that  are  heavenly; 
and  as  we  have  borne  the  image  of  the  earthy,  we  shall  also  bear 
the  image  of  the  heavenly." — 1  Cor.  xv.  45-49. 

We  are  now  to  consider  the  manner  in  which  Christ  exerts 
this  his  quickening  power,  and  confers  on  his  people  the  bless- 
ings which  are  prepared  for  them  by  his  and  the  Father's  love. 

1.  The  sovereign  will  of  the  royal  Mediator  is  the  sole  moving 
cause  of  the  work  of  grace.  Says  Jesus,  "As  the  Father 
raiseth  up  the  dead  and  quickeneth  them,  even  so  the  Son  quick- 
eneth  whom  he  will.  .  .  .  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  The 
hour  is  coming,  and  now  is,  when  the  dead  shall  hear  the  voice 
of  the  Son  of  God ;  and  they  that  hear  shall  live.  For  as  the 
Father  hath  life  in  himself;  so  hath  he  given  to  the  Son  to  have 
life  in  himself." — John  v.  21,  25,  26.  Here,  Christ,  no  doubt, 
has  ultimate  reference  to  the  resurrection  of  the  body.     But  he 

638 


sect,  i.]      The  Last  Adam  a  Quickening  Spirit.  639 

speaks  more  immediately  of  the  resurrection  of  dead  souls  to 
spiritual  life.  He  describes  a  new  life  which  was  actually  real- 
ized by  men,  when  he  uttered  the  words,  in  the  days  of  his  flesh ; 
and  which  constituted  a  pledge  and  antepast  of  the  resurrection 
of  the  just: — "The  hour  is  coming,  and  now  is.  .  .  .  Marvel  not 
at  this ;  for  the  hour  is  coming,  in  the  which  all  that  are  in  the 
graves  shall  hear  his  voice  and  shall  come  forth." — V.  28,  29.  It 
is  therefore  in  reference  to  the  effectual  calling  of  his  people,  that 
the  Son  of  God  says  of  himself  that  "he  quickeneth  whom  he 
will."  He  teaches  the  same  doctrine  when,  in  another  place,  he 
says,  "I  am  the  good  shepherd,  and  know  my  sheep,  and  am 
known  of  mine.  .  .  .  And  other  sheep  I  have,  which  are  not  of 
this  fold ;  them  also  (jie  dec  (vfayavJ)  I  must  gather  in ;  and  they 
shall  hear  my  voice;  and  there  shall  be  one  fold  and  one  Shep- 
herd."—John  x.  14,  16. 

2.  The  instrumentality  through  which  the  grace  of  Christ  is 
brought  home  to  men,  is  the  preaching  of  the  word.  "Without 
faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God." — Heb.  xi.  6.  But  "faith 
cometh  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  word  of  God." — P^om.  x. 
17.  Hence  the  argument  of  Paul.  Citing  the  language  of  Joel, 
"Whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved," 
— he  asks,  "How  then  shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom  they 
have  not  believed?  and  how  shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom 
they  have  not  heard?  and  how  shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher? 
and  how  shall  they  preach  except  they  be  sent?" — Rom.  x.  13, 
14.  The  design  of  the  whole  mission  and  work  of  the  Son  of 
God  being,  the  revelation  of  the  Father,  he  identifies  that  work 
of  grace,  in  which  the  Father's  glory  is  so  signally  illustrated, 
with  the  publication  of  an  oral  testimony  to  the  divine  perfec- 
tions. And,  having  all  power  in  heaven  and  earth,  he  has  em- 
ployed his  power  in  sending  forth  that  testimony  to  each  one  of 
the  elect.  So  he  says,  "Other  sheep  have  I,  which  are  not  of 
this  fold.  Them  also  I  must  bring,  and  they  shall  hear  my  voice" 
to  wit,  as  uttered  by  his  ministers,  to  whom  he  says,  "He  that 
heareth  you  heareth  me." — Luke  x.  16. 

3.  The  Spirit  sent  forth  by  Christ  is  the  agent,  through  whose 
personal  presence  and  efficiency  the  call  of  the  gospel  is  made 


640  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxii. 

effectual.  "  Not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  my  Spirit,  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts." — Zech.  iv.  6.  In  this  work  of  God's  power 
the  entire  nature  of  the  man,  body  and  soul,  is  possessed  and 
pervaded  by  the  Spirit,  and  united  by  him  to  the  person  of 
Christ,  in  whom  he  dwells.  The  soul  is  subjected  to  his  supre- 
macy, and  its  powers  subdued  under  the  control  of  his  will;  and 
the  vile  body  is  made  his  temple,  (1  Cor.  vi.  19,)  and  its  members 
his  instruments,  (Rom.  vi.  13.)  This  subject  will  be  illustrated 
as  we  trace  the  process  through  which  the  Son  of  God  endows 
his  people  with  every  perfection  and  grace  of  the  image  of  God, 
robes  them  in  perfect  righteousness,  exalts  them  to  sonship  with 
God,  and  bestows  upon  them  the  inheritance  of  heaven. 

The  first  blessing  which  thus  the  second  Adam  bestows,  has 
respect  to  the  bondage  under  which  his  elect  lie  to  the  depravity 
§  2.  The  new  which  came  in  by  the  fall.  This  is  broken  by  rege- 
terth.  neration.     "Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot 

see  the  kingdom  of  God." — John  iii.  3.  Of  this  new  birth,  Paul 
says  to  Titus,  "Not  by  works  of  righteousness  which  we  have 
clone,  but  according  to  his  mercy  he  saved  us,  by  the  washing  of 
regeneration  and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  he  shed  on 
us  abundantly,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour." — Tit.  iii.  5, 
G.  Here  the  several  relations  of  the  Persons  of  the  Godhead  to 
the  new  birth  are  distinctly  stated.  The  Father  is  the  primary 
author  of  it,  by  the  gift  of  the  Spirit.  The  person  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  medium  through  whom  he  is  given.  He  is  "shed 
on  us  abundantly  (oca  'Ir^aou  Xpcavou)  through  Jesus  Christ." 
And  to  the  immediate  power  of  the  Spirit  thus  shed  down,  is  the 
cleansing  and  renewing  work  attributed.  Regeneration  is  that 
change  which  occurs  in  the  soul,  by  virtue  of  the  entrance  of 
Christ's  Spirit,  as  an  indwelling  power,  assuming  a  sovereignty 
absolute  and  entire  over  the  whole  being.  Whereas,  in  the  un- 
regenerate,  the  old  man,  the  apostate  nature  of  Adam,  maintains 
supreme  control,  and  determines  the  attitude  of  the  powers,  and 
the  actions  of  the  life, — the  Spirit  of  Christ,  entering  into  his 
people  in  regeneration,  acts  as  a  new  and  divine  nature,  by  the 
power  of  which  the  old  nature  is  brought  into  subjection,  and  the 
child  of  God  is  led  contrary  to  it,  in  the  ways  of  new  obedience. 


sect,  i.]       The  Last  Adam  a  Quickening  Spirit.  641 

In  reference  to  the  efficiency  of  the  Spirit  in  engrafting  the 
elect  into  the  person  of  Christ,  imparting  to  them  his  mind,  and 
endowing  them  with  his  justifying  righteousness  and  immortal 
life  and  glory,  he  is  called  "the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus," — 
Rom.  viii.  2 ;  and  his  entrance  is  the  communication  of  life, — 
the  life  of  Christ  to  the  soul.  "  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  life, 
and  he  that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God  hath  not  life." — 1  John  v. 
12.  Paul  says  of  himself,  "I  am  crucified  with  Christ:  never- 
theless I  live,  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me ;  and  the  life, 
which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of 
God,  who  loved  me  and  gave  himself  for  me." — Gal.  ii.  20.  The 
effect  of  the  entrance  of  this  life  of  Christ  into  the  soul  is 
instantaneously  realized  in  the  restoration  of  the  nature  and 
powers  to  conformity  with  the  likeness  of  Christ  and  of  God. 
The  saints  are  "created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works." — 
Eph.  ii.  10.  "The  new  man  is  renewed  in  knowledge  after  the 
image  of  him  that  created  him." — Col.  iii.  10.  It," after  God,  is 
created  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness." — Eph.  iv.  24.  The 
reason  is  enlightened  to  know  the  truth  of  God ;  and  the  con- 
science, to  apprehend  and  admire  the  beauty  and  glory  of  his 
holiness.  "  God,  who  commanded  the  light  to  shine  out  oi 
darkness,  hath  shined  in  our  hearts,  to  give  the  .light  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God,  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ." — 
2  Cor.  iv.  6.  "  The  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  ;  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him ;  neither  can 
he  know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned.  But  he 
that  is  spiritual  judgeth  all  things." — 1  Cor.  ii.  14.  Thus  is  the 
moral  sense  restored  to  its  pristine  office,  and  enabled  to  appre- 
hend, admire  and  adore  the  glorious  beauty  of  God's  perfections 
and  the  riches  of  his  boundless  love.  At  the  same  time,  the 
promise  of  Christ  is  fulfilled  by  the  Comforter,  who  brings  all 
things  to  remembrance  and  guides  into  all  truth. 

Whilst  thus  the  man  is  brought  into  the  light  of  God's  truth 
and  beholds  with  joy  his  matchless  excellency,  the  love  of  God 
seizes  the  soul  and  controls  the  will.  The  soul  beholding  the 
glory  of  God,  and  the  nature  conformed  to  his  image, — the 
affections  and  the  will  flow  in  harmony  with  the  renewed  and 

41 


642  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxii. 

enlightened  nature,  in  the  love  and  imitation  of  the  divine  per- 
fections, and  obedience  to  the  law  of  God.  The  works  of  the 
flesh  are  abandoned,  and  its  lusts  crucified ;  whilst  the  fruits  of 
the  Spirit  grow, — "  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness, 
goodness,  faith,  meekness,  temperance." — Gal.  v.  22,  23. 

In  one  aspect  of  it,  regeneration  is  the  beginning  of  a  work 
which  is  finished  in  sanctification.  In  another,  it  is  an  instan- 
taneous act,  complete  and  finished  in  itself.  The  old  man  is  actu- 
ally crucified ;  the  native  corruptions  and  lusts  may  linger  for  a 
season,  but  they  are  wounded  unto  death.  The  new  man  is  after 
God  created.  The  Spirit  of  Christ  has  taken  possession  of  soul 
and  body, — a  possession  which  is  full  and  entire,  and  which  will 
be  final  and  forever,  since  "  the  gifts  and  calling  of  God  are 
without  repentance." — Eom.  xi.  29.  The  life  of  Christ  is  begun 
in  the  soul.  The  person  has  become  a  member  of  Christ, — of 
his  body,  of  his  flesh  and  of  his  bones.  Henceforth,  on  earth, 
for  glory  or  shame,  Christ's  portion  is  his ;  and  his,  the  life  and 
immortality  of  Christ,  in  the  heavens. 

Another  immediate  result  of  union  with  Christ  is,  investiture 
in  his  righteousness,  to  our  justification.  Whilst  the  Holy 
I  3.  Justified-  Spirit  is  the  author  of  the  new  birth,  "  it  is  God 
ton  by  faith.  ^he  Father,)  that  justifies." — Kom.  viii.  33.  Justi- 
fication is  that  decree  of  God's  justice,  wherein  the  sinner,  being 
cited  to  the  bar,  and  appearing  clothed  in  the  spotless  and  per- 
fect righteousness  of  Christ  his  Head,  is  therein  justified;  that 
is,  pronounced  to  be  righteous  and  entitled  to  the  covenant  pro- 
mise of  eternal  life. 

1.  The  matter  of  justification  is  that  very,  whole  and  entire 
righteousness  which  the  Lord  Jesus  wrought  by  his  obedience 
and  suffering.  This  follows  from  the  very  manner  of  the  justi- 
fication itself,  and  is  abundantly  attested  in  the  Scriptures. 
Either,  Christ  answers  wholly  for  us,  or,  not  at  all.  Either,  we 
are  members  of  the  body,  and  our  relation  to  the  law  conse- 
quently merged  in  that  of  our  Head,  so  that,  at  the  bar,  we  are 
known  only  in  him  and  endowed  with  all  his  fulness ;  or,  we  are 
not  members,  and,  if  not,  have  no  interest  in  the  Head,  nor  He 
a  voice  on  our  behalf.     Of  such  he  says,  "I  never  knew  you." 


sect,  il]      The  Last  Adam  a  Quickening  /Sjririt.  643 

The  relation  to  the  Head  which  causes  that  we  are  not  looked 
upon  in  our  sins,  but  in  him  who  knew  no  sin,  at  once  induces 
our  own  righteousnesses,  as  well  as  our  sins,  to  be  hidden  behind 
Christ,  and  enrobes  us  in  his  whole  merits  and  honour.  Christ, 
and  he  only,  "  is  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every 
one  that  believeth." — Kom.  x.  4.  He  "of  God  is  made  unto  us 
.  .  .  righteousness." — 1  Cor.  i.  30.  "  In  his  days,"  says  the  pro- 
phet, "  Judah  shall  be  saved,  and  Israel  shall  dwell  safely  :  and 
this  is  his  name,  whereby  he  shall  be  called :  The  Lord  our 
Righteousness." — Jer.  xxiii.  6.  "  In  the  Lord  shall  all  the 
seed  of  Israel  be  justified  and  shall  glory." — Isa.  xlv.  25.  "  As 
by  the  offence  of  one  judgment  came  upon  all  men  to  condemna- 
tion, even  so  by  the  righteousness  of  one  the  free  gift  came 
upon  all  men  unto  justification  of  life.  For  as  by  one  man's 
disobedience  many  were  made  sinners,,  so  by  the  obedience  of 
one  shall  many  be  made  righteous." — Rom.  v.  18,  19.  As  the 
apostasy  of  Adam  immediately  involved  all  who  were  in  him 
under  condemnation,  prior  to  and  irrespective  of  any  of  the 
actual  sins  which  the  apostate  nature  causes  in  them  personally, 
— so  the  righteousness  of  the  second  Adam  is  the  sole  and  im- 
mediate ground  of  the  justification  of  all  who  are  in  him,  prior 
to  and  irrespective  of  the  holy  obedience  which  the  indwelling 
Spirit  of  Christ  works  in  them. 

2.  The  ground  of  the  justification  of  the  elect, — the  cause  of 
the  imputation  to  them  of  the  righteousness  of  Christ, — is,  their 
actual  inbeing  in  Christ.  They  are  "  accepted  in  the  Beloved," 
— Eph.  i.  6, — because  they  really  are  in  him.  Christ's  right- 
eousness is  theirs,  because  he,  whose  is  that  righteousness,  is 
theirs.  If  Christ  himself  is  free  from  condemnation,  it  cannot 
reach  those  who  are  in  him.  If  he  stands  justified  and  entitled 
to  eternal  life  and  glory,  as  the  covenant  reward  of  his  perfect 
and  finished  obedience, — they  that  are  in  him,  the  members  of 
his  body,  must  needs  be  included  in  the  sentence  of  his  justifica- 
tion and  the  award  to  him  of  eternal  life.  "  There  is  therefore 
now  no  condemnation  to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus.  .  .  . 
For  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath  made  me 
free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death." — Rom.  viii.  1,  2.     Here 


644  The  JElohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxii. 

justification  is  announced: — " There  is  no  condemnation."  Its 
ground  is  stated  : — it  is  "  to  them  which  are  in  Christ."  And  its 
mode  is  described : — "  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ 
Jesus  hath  made  me  free."  The  controlling  power  of  the  Spirit 
of  Christ,  dwelling  in  and  ruling  the  soul,  and  uniting  it  to  Christ, 
imparts  his  freedom  from  the  curse,  which  he  has  exhausted, 
and  from  the  law,  which  he  has  condescended  freely  to  obey, 
which  he  has  fully  satisfied,  and  over  which  he  now  asserts  his 
divine  supremacy.  The  same  idea  the  apostle  urges  in  another 
form,  when  he  says,  "  My  brethren,  ye  are  become  dead  to  the 
law,  by  the  body  of  Christ ;  that  ye  should  be  married  to  another, 
even  to  him  who  is  raised  from  the  dead," — and  so  proved  inde- 
pendent of  the  law,  whose  curse  is  thus  shown  to  be  exhausted, 
— "  that  we  should  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God." — Rom.  vii.  4. 
Again,  the  apostle,  having  stated  the  enmity  of  the  carnal  mind 
to  God,  and  the  consequent  displeasure  of  God  against  those 
who  are  in  the  flesh,  adds,  "  But  ye  are  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in 
the  Spirit,  if  so  be  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwell  in  you.  Now, 
if  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his. 
And  if  Christ  be  in  you,"  to  wit,  by  his  Spirit,  "  the  body  is 
dead  because  of  sin,  but  the  Spirit  is  life  because  of  righteous- 
ness,"— the  righteousness  of  Christ,  which  it  imparts. — Eom. 
viii.  9,  10.  Hence  the  declaration  of  the  same  apostle  in  another 
place : — "  I  count  all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord ;  for  whom  I  have  suffered 
the  loss  of  all  things,  and  do  count  them  but  dung,  that  I  may 
win  Christ,  and  be  found  in  him,  not  having  mine  own  right- 
eousness, which  is  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is  through  the 
faith  of  Christ,  the  righteousness  which  is  of  God,  by  faith." — 
Phil.  iii.  8,  9. 

3.  The  instrumental  cause  of  the  appropriation  of  the  right- 
eousness of  Christ,  in  order  to  justification,  is  faith.  "  Being 
justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God,  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ." — Rom.  v.  1.  As  the  Head  of  the  Church  has 
seen  good  to  make  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  an  invariable 
prerequisite  to  salvation, — so  has  he  appointed  faith  in  that 
testimony,  as  the  means  through  which  his  righteousness  is 


sect,  in.]    The  Last  Adam  a  Quickening  Spirit.  645 

applied  to  the  justifying  of  the  soul.  Essentially,  justification 
takes  place  immediately  upon  union  with  Christ  by  the  Spirit ; 
which,  in  the  case  of  infants,  may  precede  the  knowledge  which 
is  requisite  to  actual  faith.  But,  in  a  strict  legal  sense,  the 
decree  of  justification  is  only  issued  when  the  party  has  made 
an  actual  appearance  at  the  bar,  and  pleaded  the  righteousness 
of  Christ.  This  is  the  office  of  faith,  which  is  a  grace  wrought 
in  the  heart  by  the  ingrafting  Spirit,  whereby  we  receive  and  rest 
upon  Christ  alone  for  salvation,  as  he  is  offered  to  us  in  the  gospel. 
The  importance  and  necessity  of  faith  in  order  to  justification, 
is  consequent  upon  its  relation  to  the  revealing  plan.  God 
having  put  into  operation  the  instrumentalities  which  we  have 
seen  to  concur  in  making  known  the  divine  nature  and  perfec- 
tions, the  acceptance  of  that  testimony  must  be  esteemed  by  him 
of  an  importance  proportioned  to  the  dignity  and  variety  of  the 
witnesses  whom  he  has  commissioned,  the  demonstration  of  the 
evidence,  and  the  sovereignty  and  condescension  of  Him  who 
has  seen  good  thus  to  reveal  himself.  If  the  revelation  of  the 
Most  High  was  an  object  becoming  the  creation  of  all  things, 
the  formation  of  man,  and  his  redemption  by  the  incarnate 
Word, — proportionately  important  is  that  faith  without  which 
the  testimony  is  all  in  vain.  Further,  in  the  exercise  of  faith, 
the  believer  becomes  a  witness  whose  testimony  is  added  to  all 
the  rest,  confirming  the  evidence  and  proclaiming  it  abroad. 
The  Son  of  God  is  the  Revealer  in  whom,  especially  as  incarnate 
and  crucified  for  sin,  all  other  testimony  concentrates  its  light. 
In  him  the  whole  revelation  culminates ;  and  therefore  faith  in 
him  is  essential  to  any  true  belief  in  God,  or  acceptance  with 
him.  Hence  the  appointment  of  faith  in  Christ  as  the  alone  and 
indispensable  prerequisite  to  salvation.  Not  as  though  it  were 
a  meritorious  condition ;  but  as  an  indispensable  evidence  and 
infallible  proof  of  being  truly  a  member  of  Christ.  If  we  are 
in  Christ,  we  will  have  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  And,  if  we  have 
his  Spirit,  we  will  assuredly  exercise  implicit  faith  and  trust  in 
his  testimony.  Of  the  relation  of  faith  to  the  truth  as  a  revela- 
tion of  God,  the  beloved  disciple  tells  us  that,  "  he  that  believeth 
on  the  Son  of  God  hath  the  witness  in  himself :  he  that  believeth 


646  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxii. 

not  God  hath  made  him  a  liar;  because  he  believeth  not  the 
record  that  God  gave  of  his  Son." — 1  John  v.  10.  And  the 
Baptist  says  that  "  what  the  Son  hath  seen  and  heard,  that  he 
testifieth.  .  .  .  He  that  hath  received  his  testimony  hath  set  to 
his  seal  that  God  is  true.  For  He  whom  God  hath  sent  speaketh 
the  words  of  God." — John  iii.  32-34.  The  Spirit  of  Christ, 
dwelling  within,  takes  of  the  things  of  Christ,  shows  them  in 
their  demonstration  and  glory  to  the  soul,  and  works  faith  in 
the  witness  thus  given.  It  testifies  of  the  freeness,  fulness  and 
sufficiency  of  his  atoning  work,  and  induces  the  soul  to  take 
refuge  in  him.  The  ministers  of  the  law  cite  the  party  to 
appear  at  the  bar  of  justice.  The  believer  answers  by  pleading 
Christ.  That  plea  is  of  itself  an  immediate  and  infallible  proof 
that  he  by  whom  it  is  made  has  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  is  a 
member  of  his  body,  and  entitled,  as  such,  to  the  merits  of  the 
Head.  There  is  therefore  no  condemnation;  but,  "being  justi- 
fied by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God,  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."— Rom.  v.  1. 

The  adoption  of  sons  is  another  of  the  endowments  which 
Christ  confers  on  his  people,  by  union  with  himself.  "As  many 
g  4.  The  adop-  as  received  him,  to  them  gave  he  power  to  become 
tiono/sons.  faG  gons  0f  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  his 
name  :  which  were  born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh, 
nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God." — John  i.  12,  13.  The  adop- 
tion and  sonship  arise  out  of  the  concurrence  of  two  circum- 
stances. First,  the  regeneration  is  wrought  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
acting  as  the  incorruptible  seed;  and,  since  it  is  the  Spirit  of 
God,  it  follows  that  they  who  are  thus  born  again  are  born  of 
God,  and  are  therefore  his  children.  Hence  the  statement  of 
Paul : — "  As  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the 
sons  of  God.  For  ye  have  not  received  the  spirit  of  bondage 
again  to  fear,  but  ye  have  received  the  spirit  of  adoption, 
whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Father." — E,om.  viii.  14,  15.  Second, 
the  regeneration  being  wrought  by  the  Spirit  given  through  the 
person  of  Christ,  and  uniting  the  elect  to  him,  the  oneness  with 
him  so  caused  induces  in  them  a  communion  in  his  relation  to 
the  Father.     As  he  is  the  only  begotten  Son,  they  who  are  in 


sect,  in.]     The  Last  Adam  a  Quickening  Spirit.  647 

him  are,  in  him,  sons.  "  GocT  sent  forth  his  Son,  ...  to  redeem 
them  that  were  under  the  law,  that  we  might  receive  the  adop- 
tion of  sons." — Gal.  iv.  4,  5. 

As  a  consequence  of  the  sonship  thus  arising,  believers  are 
invested  with  a  title  to  the  inheritance  in  the  heavens  with 
Christ.  "Wherefore,"  says  Paul,  "thou  art  no  more  a  ser- 
vant, but  a  son;  and  if  a  son,  then  an  heir  of  God  through 
Christ." — Gal.  iv.  7.  "  If  children,  then  heirs, — heirs  of  God, 
and  joint  heirs  with  Christ ;  if  so  be  that  we  suffer  with  him, 
that  wt  may  be  also  glorified  together." — Bom.  viii.  17. 

To  those  upon  whom  Christ  thus  confers  the  adoption  of  sons, 
he  also  gives  the  privilege  of  the  most  endeared  intimacy,  com- 
a  5.  Com-  munion  and  fellowship  with  himself  and  the  Father. 
munion  with  "  Because  ye  are  sons,  God  hath  sent  forth  the 
God-  Spirit   of    his    Son     into    your     hearts,     crying, 

Abba,  Father." — Gal.  iv.  6.  Thus,  not  only  is  access  to  the 
presence  of  God  permitted,  but  the  Father  himself  sends  forth 
his  own  Spirit  to  persuade  his  children  to  draw  near  with  con- 
fidence and  call  upon  him.  Nay,  further,  the  blessed  Godhead 
condescends  to  come  and  take  up  its  abode  in  the  soul,  which  is 
united  to  the  Son.  So,  Jesus  says,  "  If  a  man  love  me,  he  will 
keep  my  words,  and  my  Father  will  love  him,  and  we  will  come 
unto  him  and  make  our  abode  with  him," — John  xiv.  23;  and 
of  the  Spirit,  he  tells  his  disciples,  "  He  dwelleth  with  you  and 
shall  be  in  you." — John  xiv.  17.  Hence,  John  writes,  "  Truly 
our  fellowship  is  with  the  Father,  and  with  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ." — 1  John  i.  3. 

Of  the  communion  thus  realized,  the  Spirit  of  Christ  is  the 
immediate  efficient  cause.  Sent  forth  from  the  Father  by  and 
through  the  Son,  and  remaining  in  the  hearts  of  the  regenerate, 
he  imparts  to  them  the  testimony  of  God,  seals  to  them  his  love, 
and  excites  in  them  responsive  affections  and  heavenward 
breathings.  Hence  Paul,  having,  in  the  eighth  chapter  of  the 
epistle  to  the  Eomans,  traced  the  relation  of  the  indwelling 
Spirit  to  justification,  regeneration,  sanctification,  the  resur- 
rection of  the  body,  and  the  adoption,  adds,  "Likewise  the  Spirit 
also  helpeth  our  infirmities :  for  we  know  not  what  we  should 


648  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxii. 

pray  for  as  we  ought ;  but  the  Spirit  itself  maketh  intercession 
for  us  with  groanings  which  cannot  be  uttered.  And  he  that 
searcheth  the  hearts  knoweth  what  is  the  mind  of  the  Spirit, 
because  he  maketh  intercession  for  the  saints  according  to  the 
will  of  God."— Rom.  viii.  26,  27. 

The  communion  with  God  which  was  enjoyed  by  Adam  in 
innocency  was  that  of  a  highly  favoured  servant.  That  which 
the  second  Adam  enjoys  and  confers  on  his  seed  is  the  intimacy 
of  a  beloved  Son, — an  intimacy  in  which  the  Father  encourages 
his  children  to  come  with  boldness  and  confiding  trust  'to  his 
bosom ;  whilst  he  is  alike  ready  to  listen  to  the  burden  of  the 
weary,  the  care-worn  and  sorrowing  heart,  unbosomed  to  a 
sympathizing  friend ;  to  the  confessions  of  contrition,  bewailing 
indwelling  corruptions  and  actual  sins ;  the  cry  of  the  repenting 
rebel  seeking  at  length  to  mercy  long  despised;  and  to  the 
thanksgivings  of  hearts  rejoicing  in  experience  of  the  grace  of 
God, — the  praises  of  such  as  have  caught  some  glimpses  of  his 
beauty, — and  the  adorations  of  those  whose  larger  discoveries 
of  his  glorious  majesty  and  unsearchableness  cause  the  breathing 
forth  of  the  cry  of  "Holy!  Holy!"  No  member  of  Christ  so 
obscure  or  so  lowly  but  is  privileged  with  this  access,  and  per- 
suaded and  commanded  to  come  nigh  thus  unto  God,  and  hold 
fellowship  with  the  eternal  One.  Nor  does  God  thus  gather  the 
brethren  of  his  Son,  the  children  of  his  adoption,  into  his  pre- 
sence, without  bestowing  upon  them  favours  proportionate  to  his 
greatness.  Each  Person  of  the  Godhead  brings  gifts  for  their 
endowment.  The  Son  assures  them  in  all  their  temptations  and 
sorrows  of  his  presence  and  compassion. — "These  things  I  have 
spoken  unto  you,  that  in  me  ye  might  have  peace.  In  the  world 
ye  shall  have  tribulation :  but  be  of  good  cheer ;  I  have  overcome 
the  world." — John  xvi.  33.  "  We  have  not  a  high-priest  that  can- 
not be  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities ;  but  was  in  all 
points  tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin." — Heb.  iv.  15. 
And  "in  that  he  himself  hath  suffered  being  tempted,  he  is  able 
to  succour  them  that  are  tempted." — Heb.  ii.  18.  He  breathes 
upon  them  and  confers  his  Spirit  and  his  peace,  and  gives  them 
evidence  of  interest  in  his  person,  and  title  to  his  righteousness, 


sect,  v.]         The  Last  Adam  a  Quickening  Spirit.  649 

and  inheritance  with  him.  The  Father  testifies  his  love,  in  the 
assurance,  "  I  will  be  a  Father  unto  you,  and  ye  shall  be  my 
sons  and  daughters." — 2  Cor.  vi.  18.  And  "though  now  for  a 
season,  if  need  be,  ye  are  in  heaviness  through  manifold  tempta- 
tions;" it  is  to  the  end  "  that  the  trial  of  your  faith,  being  much 
more  precious  than  of  gold  that  perisheth  though  it  be  tried  with 
fire,  might  be  found  unto  praise  and  honour  and  glory  at  the 
appearing  of  Jesus  Christ." — 1  Pet.  i.  6,  7.  The  Holy  Spirit 
breathes  into  the  heart  his  consolations,  unveils  to  it  the  glory 
of  the  Father  and  Son,  testifies  of  their  love,  and  gives  birth 
within  the  soul  to  graces  and  affections  which  are  heaven  begun, 
— meekness,  gentleness,  faith,  love,  joy,  peace. 

If  such  is  the  character  of  the  communion  which  the  children 
of  God  enjoy  whilst  dwelling  here  under  the  cloud,  amid  sigh- 
ings  and  sorrows,  temptations  and  sins,  what  will  it  be  when 
they  shall  see  the  King  in  his  beauty  and  dwell  forever  in  his 
temple?  "It  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be:  but  we 
know  that  when  he  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  him,  for  we 
shall  see  him  as  he  is." — 1  John  iii.  2.  And,  to  this  blessed  pro- 
mise, the  heart  of  every  saint  responds : — It  is  enough; — "As  for 
me,  I  will  behold  thy  face  in  righteousness :  I  shall  be  satisfied 
when  I  awake  with  thy  likeness." — Psalm  xvii.  15. 

That  work  of  grace  in  the  soul,  which  is  begun  in  the  new 
birth,  is  completed  in  sanctification.  In  regeneration,  the  apos- 
a  6.  Sanctifi-  ^ate  nature  is  brought  under  curb  and  subjection  to 
cation  of  the  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  In  sanctification,  the  soul  is, 
sPtrtt-  by  degrees,  purged  of  its  apostate  tendencies;  the 

old  man  gradually  expires,  and  the  nature  is  moulded,  by  the 
indwelling  Spirit  of  Christ,  into  a  free  and  spontaneous  harmony 
with  Christ's  nature,  after  the  image  of  Cod.  That  the  Spirit 
should  dwell  in  the  soul  as  a  supreme,  pervasive  and  controlling 
agent,  and  yet  depravity  and  sin  remain,  is  a  fact  which  is  en- 
tirely beyond  our  comprehension.  But,  whilst  the  mode  of  its 
occurrence  is  inscrutable,  the  purpose  of  it  would  seem  to  be 
clear.  The  design  of  the  whole  work  of  God  being  the  revela- 
tion of  himself, — that  revelation,  to  suit  the  finite  capacities  for 
which  it  is  designed,  must  gradually  unfold  itself.    In  particular, 


650  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxii. 

were  the  elect  instantaneously  sanctified,  neither  would  they  nor 
others  be  able  to  apprehend  the  depth  of  ruin  from  which  they 
are  rescued,  nor  the  nature  nor  extent  of  the  mercy  and  grace 
of  which  they  are  monuments.  But  when,  through  years  of  con- 
flict, they  learn  to  put  a  just  estimate  upon  the  depravity  of  their 
nature,  and  step  by  step  attain  deliverance  from  it,  and  win  the 
height  of  holiness  and  the  joy  of  heaven,  they  are  furnished  with 
a  means,  not  otherwise  attainable,  of  estimating  the  love  and 
grace,  the  wisdom  and  power,  of  the  redeeming  God.  In  view 
of  this  design  of  the  work  and  conflict  of  the  Christian,  his  sanc- 
tification  is  wrought  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  truth. 
"We  all,  with  open  face,  beholding  as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of  the 
Lord,  are  changed  into  the  same  image  from  glory  to  glory,  even 
as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord." — 2  Cor.  iii.  18.  Hence  the  prayer 
of  our  Saviour,  "Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth:  thy  word  is 
truth." — John  xvii.  17.  The  Spirit,  showing  the  things  of  Christ 
to  the  soul,  engraves  in  it  the  likeness  of  God  thus  discovered, 
and  enlarges  the  capacities  of  the  growing  believer  for  the  dis- 
covery and  enjoyment  of  still  brighter  glories  and  pro  founder 
mysteries  in  the  measureless  nature  of  the  Most  High. 

Whilst  the  truth  is  the  instrumentality,  the  Spirit  is  the  effi- 
cient agent,  of  our  sanctification.  Nor  is  it  questionable  what 
must,  in  this  respect,  be  the  result,  when  a  creature  is  born  of 
God,  and  has  the  seed  of  God,  the  Spirit  of  holiness,  remaining 
in  him: — "Whosoever  is  born  of  God  doth  not  commit  sin;  for 
his  seed  remaineth  in  him,  and  he  cannot  sin,  because  he  is  born 
of  God." — 1  John  iii.  9.  "The  flesh  lusteth  against  the  Spirit, 
and  the  Spirit  against  the  flesh," — Gal.  v.  17;  and,  since  the 
Spirit  is  almighty,  it  must  overcome.  Here  occurs  one  of  those 
apparent  contradictions  which  are  incident  to  the  anomalous 
condition  of  man,  as  apostate,  and  yet  not  overwhelmed  under 
the  curse;  redeemed,  and  not  yet  fitted  for  heaven.  The  same 
apostle  who  declares  that  he  that  is  born  of  God  cannot  sin,  says,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  same  short  epistle,  "If  we  say  that  we  have 
no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us.  ...  If 
we  say  that  we  have  not  sinned,  we  make  him  a  liar,  and  his 
word  is  not  in  us." — 1  John  i.  8,  10.     We  have  already  pointed 


sect,  vi.]        The  Last  Adam  a  Quickening  Spirit.  651 

out  a  characteristic  of  the  renewed  man,  which  is  the  key  to  the 
harmony  of  these  seemingly  incongruous  declarations.*  In  the 
person  of  the  child  of  God  there  co-exist  the  old  man  and  the 
new,  the  flesh  and  the  Spirit.  The  old  man,  the  flesh,  although 
crucified  and  expiring,  is  not  actually  dead,  but  retains  a  linger- 
ing vitality  sufficient  to  induce  continual  actings  of  sin;  so  that 
the  pretence  of  freedom  from  actual  sin  would  be  a  lie.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  sins  thus  occurring  are  characteristic  of  that 
old,  carnal  nature,  which  is  doomed  and  dying;  they  belong  not 
to  the  new  man.  On  the  contrary,  the  new,  the  inward  man, — 
the  "I,  myself," — delights  in  God's  law,  does  not  allow,  and  can- 
not commit,  sin: — "Now  then  it  is  no  more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin 
that  dwelleth  in  me.  For  I  know  that  in  me,  that  is,  in  my 
flesh,  dwelleth  no  good  thing." — Eom.  vii.  17,  18.  Thus,  in  the 
renewed  man,  whilst  sin,  and  sin  only,  remains  in  the  members — 
the  flesh, — his  heart  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  in- 
ward man  delights  in  God's  law,  and  abhors  the  deeds  of  the 
flesh;  so  that,  most  truly  is  it  said  that  he  cannot  sin.  Nay, 
even  the  sins  of  which  his  flesh  is  guilty,  and  for  which  it  is  con- 
demned and  dying,  he  allows  not;  and,  whilst  he  sees  a  law  in 
his  members  warring  against  the  law  of  his  mind,  and  bringing 
him  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin,  that  law  in  his  members  is, 
and  is  felt  to  be,  a  hostile  power,  from  which  the  soul  revolts, — 
in  regard  to  which,  its  constant  cry  is,  "  0  wretched  man  that  I 
am!  who  shall  deliver  me?"  and  from  which  it  takes  refuge  in 
the  abundant  power  of  the  Redeemer : — "  I  thank  God,  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." — Rom.  vii.  23-25.  Well,  therefore, 
does  the  apostle  state  this,  as  the  evidence  and  test  of  the  reality 
of  a  work  of  grace:— " In  this  the  children  of  God  are  manifest, 
and  the  children  of  the  devil." — 1  John  iii.  10. 

So  long  as  is  needful  for  the  higher  blessedness  of  the  elect,  in 
their  eternal  state,  and  for  the  glory  of  God,  which  is  identified 
therewith,  they  are  left  to  maintain  the  conflict  with  corruption, 
but  with  assurance  of  complete  final  victory  and  triumph: — "In 
all  these  things  we  are  more  than  conquerors,  through  Him  that 
loved  us." — Rom.  viii.  37.     God  worketh  in  us  both  to  will  and 

*  Above,  page  454. 


652  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxii. 

to  do  of  his  good  pleasure;  and,  having  begun  such  a  work,  he 
will  perform  it  unto  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ.  When  we  see  him 
in  his  glory  as  he  is,  we  shall  be  like  him. 

That  same  indwelling  Spirit  of  Christ  which  is  the  pledge  and 
fountain  of  perfection  to  the  soul,  is  the  seal  and  power  of  the 
,7  Theresu)._  resurrection  of  the  body,  and  of  eternal  life  in 
rection  of  the  heaven.  The  Captain  of  salvation,  who  has  under- 
hody-  taken  the  destruction  of  Satan  and  his  works,  will 

not  leave  one  trophy  of  his  people  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
Their  very  dust  shall  be  gathered,  and  made  to  share  in  the 
triumph  and  the  glory.  The  Holy  Spirit,  imparted  by  Christ 
to  his  people,  and  dwelling  in  them,  is  the  earnest  of  the  inherit- 
ance until  the  redemption  of  the  purchased  possession ;  and,  that 
earnest  being  conferred  on  the  body,  which  is  the  temple  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  as  well  as  on  the  soul,  the  body  is  thus  assured  of 
triumph  over  the  curse  in  the  resurrection  of  life.  Accordingly, 
Paul  states  our  communion  in  Christ  as  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciple, in  that  discussion  of  the  form  and  manner  of  the  resurrec- 
tion which  occurs  in  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  First  Corinthians : — 
"As  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive." 
"The  first  man  Adam  was  made  to  be  a  living  soul,  the  last 
Adam  to  be  a  quickening  Spirit."  This  doctrine  is  Paul's  fa- 
vourite resort  for  the  consolation  of  distressed  and  persecuted 
believers.  He  describes  himself  as  "persecuted,  but  not  for- 
saken; cast  down,  but  not  destroyed;  always  bearing  about  in 
the  body  the  dying  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  the  life  also  of  Jesus 
might  be  made  manifest  in  our  body.  For  we  which  live  are 
always  delivered  unto  death  for  Jesus'  sake,  that  the  life  also  of 
Jesus  might  be  made  manifest  in  our  mortal  flesh.  .  .  .  Knowing 
that  he  which  raised  up  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  raise  up  us  also  [dta 
'fyaou)  through  Jesus,  and  shall  present  us  with  you.  .  .  .  We 
that  are  in  this  tabernacle  do  groan,  being  burdened :  not  for 
that  we  would  be  unclothed,  but  clothed  upon,  that  mortality 
might  be  swallowed  up  of  life.  Now,  he  that  hath  wrought  us 
for  the  selfsame  thing  (0  dk  xaTepyaad/iepo^  fyiac;  e?c  oSjto  tuuto, 
he  that  hath  so  modified  our  nature  by  renewing  grace  as  to 
adapt  us  to  this  very  design)  is  God,  who  also  hath  given  unto 


sect,  vi.]         The  Last  Adam  a  Quickening  Spirit.  653 

us  the  earnest  of  the  Spirit." — 2  Cor.  iv.  9-18;  v.  1-5.  Precisely 
parallel  to  this  is  his  statement  to  the  Romans,  viii.  11-23.  He 
asserts  that,  "if  the  Spirit  of  him  that  raised  up  Jesus  from  the 
dead  dwell  in  you,  he  that  raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead  shall 
also  quicken  your  mortal  bodies  by  his  Spirit  that  dwelleth  in 
you;"  and,  having  stated  the  adoption,  he  adds,  "and  if  children, 
then  heirs;  heirs  of  God,  and  joint  heirs  with  Christ;  if  so  be 
that  we  suffer  with  him,  ('  always  bearing  about  in  the  body  the 
dying  of  the  Lord  Jesus,' — 2  Cor.  iv.  10,)  that  we  may  be  also 
glorified  together.  For  I  reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  this  pre- 
sent time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory  which 
shall  be  revealed  in  us;"  to  wit,  when  our  bodies  shall  be  made 
like  unto  Christ's  glorious  body.  "For  the  earnest  expectation 
of  the  creature  (the  believer's  body)  waiteth  for  the  manifesta- 
tion of  the  sons  of  God.  For  the  body  was  made  subject  to 
vanity,  (decay  and  dissolution,)  not  willingly,  but  by  reason  of 
Him  who  hath  subjected  the  same;  in  hope  that  the  body  itself 
also  (as  well  as  the  soul)  shall  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of 
corruption  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God.  For 
we  know  that  (rrilaa  ■/}  xzloct;)  the  bodies  of  all  men  (of  the  world 
at  large)  together  groan  and  travail  in  pain  until  now :  and  not 
only  so,  but  we  also  which  have  the  first  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  (in 
the  regeneration  of  our  souls,)  even  we  ourselves  groan  within 
ourselves,  waiting  for  the  adoption,  to  wit,  the  redemption  of  our 
body."  That  (j  xriacz)  "the  creature,"  here  means,  the  body, 
we  conclude,  upon  several  considerations.  (1.)  The  whole  repre- 
sentation is  an  expansion  of  the  assurance  given,  in  verses  17, 
18,  of  a  glory  to  be  revealed  in  our  persons,  compensative  for 
the  persecutions  which  the  mortal  flesh  experiences  by  sharing 
in  the  sufferings  of  Christ.  (2.)  The  creature  is  an  heir  of  de- 
liverance from  the  bondage  of  corruption  into  the  glorious  liberty 
of  the  sons  of  God.  To  say  that  any  thing  else  than  the  body  of 
the  believer  is  co-heir  with  his  soul  to  that  inheritance,  is  simply 
to  destroy  the  meaning,  and  deny  the  reality  of  the  adoption 
itself.  (3.)  The  occasion  of  the  groaning  is,  in  the  23d  verse, 
and  in  the  passage  from  the  epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  distinctly 
stated.     It  is  a  bondage  of  corruption,  from  which  the  body  is 


654  Tlie  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxii. 

to  be  redeemed  by  the  fruition  of  that  adoption,  the  first  fruits 
of  which  the  soul  has  already  realized.  The  parallelism  of  this 
verse  with  the  21st,  and  its  contrast  with  the  22d,  in  which  all  the 
creatures  (the  bodies  of  the  unbelieving  world)  are  represented 
as  groaning,  but  without  hope,  concur  to  the  same  conclusion. 
(4.)  The  identity  of  the  theme  and  argument,  here,  and  in  the 
passage  which  we  have  quoted  from  the  second  epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  confirms  the  conclusion  thus  attained. 

Thus,  then,  are  the  bodies  of  believers  embraced  with  their 
souls  in  the  redemption  of  Christ  and  the  adoption  of  sons  of 
God.  They  are  temples  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  members  of 
Christ,  (1  Cor.  vi.  15,  19 ;)  and  as  soon  may  his  sceptre  itself 
be  broken,  and  the  throne  of  God's  glory  overturned,  as  a 
temple  of  the  Spirit  fall  to  ruins,  or  a  member  of  Christ's  body 
be  severed.  Hence  the  declaration  of  Jesus,  at  the  grave  of 
Lazarus : — "  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life  :  he  that  belie veth 
in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live ;  and  whosoever 
liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall  never  die." — John  xi.  25,  26. 
Even  though  the  mortal  body  moulder  into  dust,  it  is  not  dis- 
solved, nor  the  tie  of  union  between  it  and  the  soul  severed, 
as  it  is  in  those  who  die  under  the  curse.  The  Spirit  of  life 
dwells  in  the  soul,  in  the  bosom  of  God,  and  holds  possession  of 
the  clay  which  mingles  with  dust.  Having  once  rescued  it  from 
the  power  of  Satan  and  the  curse,  and  made  it  his  possession 
and  dwelling, — having  made  the  members  instruments  of  holi- 
ness to  God, — the  almighty  Spirit  of  Christ  will  never  surrender 
his  conquest,  nor  leave  his  temple.  He  is  a  power  of  unfailing 
vitality  to  the  unconscious  clay, — a  principle  of  germination 
whence  the  glorious  body  of  the  resurrection  shall  arise.  (1  Cor. 
xv.  36-38.)  God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living. 
It  is  not  death  which  the  believer  is  called  to  realize ;  but  a 
sleep,  which  is  destined  to  a  glorious  awakening.  "  The  trumpet 
shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised  incorruptible,  and  we 
shall  be  changed.  For  this  corruptible  must  put  on  incorrup- 
tion,  and  this  mortal  must  put  on  immortality." — 1  Cor.  xv.  52, 
53.  Not  that  we  are  to  be  unclothed, — to  part  with  the  bodies 
here  possessed, — but  clothed  upon,  that  mortality  may  be  swal- 


sect,  vil]   The  Last  Adam  a  Quickening  Spirit  655 

lowed  up  of  life.  (2  Cor.  v.  4.)  Our  vile  body  shall  be  changed, 
that  it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto  Christ's  glorious  body,  accord- 
ing to  the  working  whereby  he  is  able  even  to  subdue  all  things 
unto  himself.     (Phil.  iii.  21.) 

Thus  complete  is  the  redeeming  work  of  the  Son  of  God. 
Thus  does  the  woman's  Seed  utterly  defeat  the  malice  of  Satan, 
destroy  his  work,  rescue  his  victims,  and  reveal  God's  glorious 
sovereignty,  his  spotless  holiness  and  eternal  love.  Thus  effectual 
is  the  quickening  energy  of  the  second  Adam.  Blotting  out  the 
handwriting  that  was  against  his  people,  and  nailing  it  to  his 
own  cross, — breaking  Satan's  yoke  from  off  their  necks,  and 
renewing  them  after  his  own  image  in  the  likeness  of  the  Father, 
— he  clothes  them  in  the  glorious  garment  of  his  finished  and 
everlasting  righteousness  ;  gives  them  a  right  to  become  sons  of 
God,  and  joint  heirs  with  himself  to  the  inheritance  of  glory; 
frees  them  from  the  power  of  sin  ;  adorns  them  with  the  perfec- 
tion of  every  grace;  admits  them  to  fellowship  with  God;  and 
fits  them  to  shine  in  perfection  of  holiness  in  heaven ; — and,  to 
signalize  the  completeness  of  his  triumph,  the  utter  discomfiture 
of  Satan  and  removal  of  the  curse,  he  asserts  his  title  to  their 
very  dust,  and  will  rescue  it  from  the  power  of  death,  and  their 
bodies  from  the  grave ;  adorn  them  in  the  finished  beauty  of  his 
own  perfect  form,  and  seat  them  with  himself  on  the  throne  of 
supreme  dominion  in  the  blessedness  of  eternal  life.  Death  is 
swallowed  up  in  victory.  0  Death,  where  is  thy  sting?  0 
Grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ?  Thanks  be  to  God,  which  giveth 
us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

But  we  have  not  yet  contemplated  all  the  effects  which  are 
wrought  by  the  quickening  power  of  the  second  Adam.  Christ 
1 8.  The  church  is  not  only  the  Kedeemer  of  the  elect  individually. 
Christ's  bod j.  As  the  husband  is  the  head  of  the  wife,  so  "  Christ 
is  the  Head  of  the  church.  And  he  is  the  Saviour  of  the  body." 
— Eph.  v.  23.  His  title  as  Head  has  reference  alike  to  the  rela- 
tion which  the  church  sustains  as  his  body  and  as  his  bride, — 
relations  which,  as  we  have  formerly  seen,  are  identical,  and 
derived  from  that  of  the  first  Adam  to  her  who  was  bone  of  his 
bone,  and  flesh  of  his  flesh.     As  the  body  and  bride  of  the 


656  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxii. 

second  Adam,  the  church  is,  in  and  with  him,  the  Head,  the 
noblest  revelation  of  the  infinite  glories  of  the  Godhead;  and 
that  designation  by  which  he  is  called,  "  The  Head  of  the  Body," 
is  the  consummate  title  of  the  Eedeemer,  in  which,  as  relates 
to  the  church,  all  his  other  names  are  involved.  He  is  the 
Prophet,  Priest  and  King  of  his  people.  They  are  taught  by 
his  word  and  Spirit,  redeemed  by  his  blood  and  governed  by  his 
laws.  But  they  are  elected  and  called  to  all  this,  in  order  that, 
incorporated  into  his  body,  and  pervaded  by  the  Spirit  of  the 
Head,  they  may  display  his  perfections,  and  "show  forth  the 
praises  of  him  who  hath  called  them." — 1  Pet.  ii.  9.  They  are 
not  so  much  subjects,  obedient  to  his  laws,  as,  members,  conformed 
to  the  Head,  and  with  him  co-partners  in  the  kingdom  and  throne. 
(Eev.  iii.  21.)  They  are  not  only  taught  by  his  formal  instruc- 
tions ;  rather  are  they  pervaded  and  enlightened  by  that  very 
same  Spirit  of  knowledge  which  is  his  Spirit,  and  is  the  truth 
itself.  (1  John  ii.  20,  27.)  They  are  not  merely  purchased  with 
his  blood ;  but,  as  one  with  him,  are  partakers  of  the  same  suf- 
ferings, to  the  glory  of  the  same  God,  and  inheritance  of  the 
same  joy.     (Bom.  viii.  17;  Col.  i.  24;  1  Pet.  iv.  13.) 

It  does  not  enter  into  our  present  plan  to  discuss  at  length, 
the  constitution  and  history  of  the  church,  as  viewed  in  this  light. 
The  subject  would  demand  to  itself  a  distinct  and  large  treatise. 
We  can  here  only  point  out  two  or  three  of  the  leading  facts  as 
bearing  upon  the  general  design  of  the  present  discussion. 

The  Spirit  of  Christ,  as  imparted  to  his  people,  does  not  exer- 
cise a  merely  several  and  separate  indwelling  in  them  indivi- 
dually; but  a  common  presence,  exerting  an  assimilating  and  in- 
corporating power,  first,  into  Christ,  the  Head;  and  then,  of  all 
believers  into  each  other,  his  members.  In  all,  he  is  the  one 
fountain  of  a  common  life,  which  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God.  In 
all,  he  is  the  one  source  of  holiness  and  principle  of  divine  growth. 
In  all,  he  is  the  one  energy  and  pledge  of  a  glorious  resurrection 
from  the  grave,  one  power  of  an  endless  life  in  heaven.  In  all, 
of  all  generations,  whether  long  since  dead,  or  yet  for  ages  to 
come  unborn,  he  is  one  bond  of  identity  each  with  all  the  rest, 
so  that  they  all  are  one;  and  of  joint  communion  and  property 


sect,  viii.]    The  Last  Adam  a  Quickening  Spirit.  657 

in  the  Head;  and  this,  by  virtue  of  the  fact  that  the  uniting 
Spirit  inhabiteth  eternity;  and  makes  no  account  of  the  lapse 
of  time,  the  transitions  of  ages,  and  the  mutations  of  genera- 
tions. By  the  one  Spirit  are  all,  of  all  ages,  baptized  into  one 
body,  and  made  partakers  of  one  common  life,  which,  compre- 
hending all  time,  will  continue  after  time  forever  on  high. 

The  body  thus  created  is  not  a  mere  aggregation  of  indivi- 
duals, the  mere  company  of  redeemed  persons.  But,  as  many 
scriptures  certify,  it  is  a  thoroughly  organized  body,  symmetri- 
cal in  its  proportions,  and  perfect  in  its  members.  By  this  we 
do  not  mean  that  organization  which  results  from  the  formal 
association  of  believers  in  visible  assemblies,  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  officers  in  them;  but  a  higher,  a  spiritual  organization, 
which,  by  virtue  of  common  union  with  the  Head,  thence  imparts 
to  the  members  severally  the  several  gifts  requisite  for  the  edi- 
fying of  the  whole  and  the  fulfilling  of  its  great  end.  Thus,  no 
member  is  without  his  own  appropriate  gifts  and  offices;  and  the 
failure  of  any  one  to  exercise  his  gifts  and  fulfil  the  duties  to 
which  by  the  Spirit  he  is  called,  results  necessarily  in  marring 
the  proportions  of  the  whole  body,  and  impeding  all  its  func- 
tions. "Whether  one  member  suffer,  all  the  members  suffer 
with  it;  or  one  member  be  honoured,  all  the  members  rejoice 
with  it." — 1  Cor.  xii.  26.  To  this  purpose  Paul  argues  at  large: 
— "Now,  there  are  diversities  of  gifts,  but  the  same  Spirit.  .  .  . 
For  to  one  is  given  by  the  Spirit  the  word  of  wisdom;  to  another 
the  word  of  knowledge  by  the  same  Spirit;  to  another  faith  by 
the  same  Spirit;  to  another  the  gifts  of  healing  by  the  same 
Spirit ;  to  another  the  working  of  miracles ;  to  another  prophecy ; 
to  another  discerning  of  spirits;  to  another  divers  kinds  of 
tongues ;  to  another  the  interpretation  of  tongues.  But  all  these 
worketh  that  one  and  the  selfsame  Spirit,  dividing  to  every  man 
severally  as  he  will.  For  as  the  body  is  one,  and  hath  many 
members,  and  all  the  members  of  that  one  body,  being  many, 
are  one  body ;  so  also  is  Christ.  .  .  .  Now  ye  are  the  body  of 
Christ,  and  members  in  particular." — 1  Cor.  xii.  4-27. 

Correspondent  to  the  spiritual  organization  which  is  here 
spoken  of,  is  the  true  constitution  of  the  visible  church;  and  in 

42 


658  Tlie  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxii. 

proportion  as  the  power  and  influences  of  the  organizing  Spirit 
are  admitted  to  absolute  control  in  the  several  branches  of  the 
visible  body,  will  they  be  conformed  to  that  constitution.  Of  its 
form  we  cannot  at  present  speak. 

In  harmony  with  the  office  which  is  filled  by  the  Son  of  God, 
is  that  to  which  he  has  called  and  organized  his  body  the  church. 
}  9.  it  is  his  As  he  is  the  Adam  from  heaven,  the  image  of  the 
witness.  invisible  God,  the  Word  of  God,  by  whom  God  is 

manifested  and  made  known  in  all  his  perfections, — to  that  end 
has  he  organized  his  church,  and  given  her  commission  to  the 
world ; — to  bear  witness  to  him  and  the  Father.  Her  Head  is 
the  faithful  and  true  Witness; — her  apostles,  prophets  and  pas- 
tors, are  the  witnesses  to  the  testimony  of  Jesus; — and  she  is 
herself  the  light  of  the  world.  Her  commission  is  given  in  the 
words  of  the  prophet: — "Arise,  shine;  for  thy  light  is  come,  and 
the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee.  For  behold  the  dark- 
ness shall  cover  the  earth,  and  gross  darkness  the  people;  but 
the  Lord  shall  arise  upon  thee,  and  his  glory  shall  be  seen  upon 
thee.  And  the  Gentiles  shall  come  to  thy  light;  and  kings  to 
the  brightness  of  thy  rising." — Isa.  lx.  1-3.  Thus,  as  in  the 
darkness  of  the  night,  the  paler  moon  shines  in  the  reflected 
light  of  the  sun,  so,  in  the  absence  of  the  Sun  of  righteousness, 
does  the  church  shed  abroad  the  reflected  light  of  his  glory. 

It  is  in  reference  to  the  office  of  the  church  as  thus  designed 
to  shed  abroad  God's  glory,  that  the  hieroglyphic  by  which  she 
is  symbolized  is  a  candlestick  or  lamp-stand,  with  its  burning 
lamps.  John  saw  the  Son  of  man  in  the  midst  of  seven  golden 
candlesticks;  which  were  the  seven  churches;  whilst,  after  the 
same  idea,  seven  stars  in  his  right  hand  were  the  angels  or  officers 
of  the  seven  churches.  (Rev.  i.  20.)  Such  was  the  meaning  of 
the  candlestick  of  gold,  which  stood  in  the  tabernacle  and  temple 
of  old.  Burning  continually  in  that  part  of  the  sacred  place, 
which,  veiled  from  the  light  of  day,  symbolized  the  earth, — as, 
illumined  by  the  shekinah,  the  holy  of  holies  did  heaven, — it  was 
the  type  of  Christ's  church,  shedding  light  upon  the  world. 

The  office  to  which  the  church  is  thus  set  apart,  is  fulfilled  by 
the  example  of  holiness,  and  the  illustration  of  the  power  of 


sect,  vin.]  The  Last  Adam  a  Quickening  Spirit.  659 

redeeming  grace,  which  she  exhibits  in  herself, — by  her  oral 
testimony,  official  and  private, — by  symbolical  teaching,  in  the 
sacraments, — and  by  discipline.  By  example  she  testifies  to  the 
competence  of  Christ's  redeeming  grace,  to  the  love  of  the  Fa- 
ther, and  the  renewing  and  sanctifying  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
By  example  she  commends  the  truth  and  value  of  the  gospel ; 
whilst  she  proclaims  it,  in  oral  instructions,  to  the  under- 
standings and  consciences  of  men.  In  the  sacraments,  she  bears 
witness  in  another  mode  to  the  necessity  and  power  of  renewing 
and  ingrafting  grace,  and  the  freeness  and  virtue  of  the  sacrifice 
of  Calvary.  In  the  exercise  of  discipline,  excluding  from  her 
society  and  fellowship  the  unholy,  receiving  believers  and  cor- 
recting their  faults,  she  attests  the  sovereignty  and  holiness  of 
the  God  whom  she  worships,  and  the  purity  which  he  requires 
of  those  who  come  before  him,  and  marks  the  separation  be- 
tween the  people  of  Christ  and  of  Satan. 

Such  being  the  office  to  which  the  church  is  called,  it  follows, 
from  the  fact  that  in  her  is  the  Holy  Spirit, — a  living  Spirit, 
exerting  a  controlling  energy, — that  she  will  always  be  found 
engaged,  with  more  or  less  faithfulness,  in  the  performance  of 
the  functions  of  her  office.  Hence  the  marks  of  the  true 
church  : — "  Wherever  we  find  the  word  of  God  purely  preached 
and  heard,  and  the  sacraments  administered  according  to  the 
institution  of  Christ,  there,  it  is  not  to  be  doubted,  is  a  church 
of  Christ."*  It  is  "those  that  profess  the  true  religion,"f  as 
well  as  possess  it,  who  constitute  the  church  ;  and  it  is  not  the 
pretence  of  being  the  true  church,  nor  lineal  inheritance  from 
those  who  were  the  true  people  of  God,  but  the  bearing  of  a 
testimony  to  his  truth,  which  is  determinate.  In  this  respect, 
God's  people  are  not  left  in  the  dark,  or  exposed  to  any  difficulty 
in  applying  the  test.  "  Though  we,  or  an  angel  from  heaven, 
preach  any  other  gospel  unto  you  than  that  which  we  have 
preached  unto  you,  let  him  be  accursed." — Gal.  i.  8.  So,  says 
Jesus,  "  Beware  of  false  prophets,  which  come  to  you  in  sheep's 
clothing,  but  inwardly  they  are  ravening  wolves.  Ye  shall 
know  them   by  their  fruits." — Matt.  vii.  15,  16.     Thus  is  the 

*  Calvin's  Institutes,  Book  iv.  Ch.  i.  9.  f  Confession,    Ch.  xxv.  2. 


660  The  Elolilm  Revealed.  [chap.  xxii. 

humblest  child  of  God  authorized  and  qualified  to  test  every- 
body which  claims  to  be  the  church  of  God,  and  recognise  or 
reject  the  claim,  according  to  the  one  criterion  of  faithfulness  in 
testifying,  in  word  and  life,  to  the  truth  of  God  as  recorded  in 
the  Scriptures. 

The  blindness  and  depravity  which  still  remain  in  the  flesh  of 
Christ's  followers  have  resulted  in  the  division  of  the  true 
church  into  a  number  of  branches,  all  of  which  are  so  far  ap- 
proved that  they  bear  a  testimony  which  accords  essentially 
with  the  truth.  But,  among  them,  it  must  of  necessity  be  that 
some  are  nearer  the  standard  than  others.  Hence  arises  a  ques- 
tion which  every  thoughtful  child  of  God  will  feel  to  be  of  no 
little  importance  : — How  are  the  various  branches  of  the  church 
to  be  judged  in  respect  to  their  relative  faithfulness  and  the 
consequent  favor  and  blessing  of  the  Head  ?  The  criterion  is 
the  same  already  indicated.  (1.)  Christ  is  not  to  be  divided; 
and  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  dwelling  in  the  whole  body,  is  one. 
Where  therefore  he  most  fully  dwells,  he  will  develop  the  most 
perfect  sympathy,  the  most  cordial  recognition  and  embrace, 
and  the  most  lively  affection  for  all  who  call  upon  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity  and  truth,  of  whatever  name.  (2.) 
Where  the  Spirit  thus  dwells,  God's  word  will  be  held  in  the 
highest  honour,  and  its  testimony  published  with  the  greatest 
faithfulness  and  freedom  from  mixture  with  the  traditions  of 
men.  (3.)  The  rites  which  God  has  ordained,  and  the  institu- 
tions which  he  has  appointed,  will  be  kept  pure  and  entire  from 
improvements  or  additions  of  men's  devising.  (4.)  The  disci- 
pline of  God's  house  will  be  maintained  in  its  purity ;  and  the 
holiness  of  the  Head  will  be  reflected  in  the  members.  In  a 
word,  where  God's  Spirit  most  abundantly  dwells,  the  testimony 
for  all  the  truth  of  God  will,  in  every  form,  be  most  fully  and 
faithfully  maintained, — the  office  of  the  church  will  be  most  fully 
performed;  and,  as  a  consequence,  the  line  of  separation  will 
be  most  broadly  drawn  between  its  spirit  and  that  of  the  world. 

The  church  of  Christ  sprang  into  life  with  the  utterance  of  the 
I  10.  History  promise  to  the  fallen  pair  in  the  garden.  With  the 
of  the  church,     promise,  the  Spirit  was  sent  to  work  faith  and  repent- 


sect,  ix.]       The  Last  Adam  a  Quickening  Spirit.  661 

ance  in  their  hearts ;  the  exercise  of  which  graces  is  proved  by  the 
fact  that  God  gave  the  seal  to  faith  in  the  bloody  sacrifices  which 
he  appointed,  and  in  the  garments  which  he  made  them  of  the 
skins  of  the  sacrificial  animals,  typical  of  the  righteousness  of 
Christ.  The  very  beginning  of  the  history  of  the  church,  thus 
established,  was  marked  by  an  event — the  murder  of  Abel — 
which  signalized  the  hostility  to  which  the  witnessing  church 
must  ever  be  subject  from  the  children  of  the  world,  the  seed  of 
the  serpent.  Says  John  to  the  saints,  "  Ye  are  not  as  Cain,  who 
was  of  that  wicked  one,  and  slew  his  brother.  And  wherefore 
slew  he  him  ?  Because  his  own  works  were  evil,  and  his  brother's 
righteous.  Marvel  not,  my  brethren,  if  the  world  hate  you." — 
1  John  iii.  12, 13.  In  the  family  of  Seth  the  church  was  continued, 
whilst  Cain  went  out  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord.  But  although 
we  find  an  Enoch  walking  with  God,  and  for  his  faith  and  holiness 
translated,  yet  so  alluring  to  human  corruption  were  the  pleasures 
of  the  world,  that  the  "sons  of  God"  by  degrees  abandoned  their 
profession,  and  allied  themselves  with  the  ungodly,  until  Noah 
and  his  family  remained  alone  of  all  the  race,  faithful  to  warn  a 
guilty  world,  when  the  surging  waters  of  the  flood  were  ready  to 
sweep  away  at  once  all  traces  of  their  existence  and  their  crimes. 

Peacefully  borne  upon  the  waters,  safe  in  the  midst  of  universal 
ruin,  God  preserved  his  church;  and,  no  sooner  is  the  danger  past, 
than  the  ransomed  family  erect  an  altar,  and  call  upon  the  Lord, 
who  seals  with  them  a  covenant  of  peace,  by  the  bow  in  the  cloud. 
Yet,  with  the  memory  of  this,  God's  judgment,  ever  before  them, 
and  its  monuments  all  around  them,  how  quickly  did  the  children 
of  Noah  go  astray !  We  hear  of  a  pious  Abimelech,  and  of  a  Mel- 
chizedek,  priest  of  the  most  high  God ;  but  besides  these  the  whole 
world  seems  turned  to  idols. 

The  time  had  now  come,  in  the  designs  of  God,  for  the  organi- 
zation of  the  church  as  a  distinctive  body.  The  prior  dispensa- 
tion was  tentative,  and  the  church  was,  under  it,  unorganized. 
In  it  was  tried  the  question,  whether  the  world,  voluntarily  apos- 
tate, would,  as  a  whole,  freely  and  at  once  return  to  the  freely 
offered  covenant  of  peace; — whether  it  would  cease  from  rebel- 
lion, and  cordially  accept  the  offers  of  grace.    The  result  showed 


662  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxii. 

the  world  alike  obdurate  to  the  arguments  of  interest,  the  per- 
suasions of  mercy,  and  the  terrors  of  judgments; — not  only  lost 
to  holiness  and  peace,  but  deliberately  and  pertinaciously  lost  to 
the  claims  of  gratitude,  the  motives  of  reason  and  the  attrac- 
tions of  goodness.  But  now  was  the  church  formally  organized, 
for  preserving  and  transmitting  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  to  the 
end  of  time, — for  the  erection  of  a  standard  for  God,  and  main- 
taining a  testimony  for  him  against  the  apostasy  of  a  rebel  world. 

Abram  was  called  from  Ur  of  the  Chaldees.  He  buried  his 
father,  and  left  his  brother's  children  in  Haran,  and  was  at  length 
left,  by  the  separation  of  Lot  at  Sodom,  a  pilgrim  and  a  stranger 
upon  the  earth;  alone,  with  his  beloved  Sarai.  With  him  was 
established  the  covenant  of  peace: — "I  will  establish  my  cove- 
nant between  me  and  thee,  and  thy  seed  after  thee,  in  their  gene- 
rations, for  an  everlasting  covenant,  to  be  a  God  unto  thee,  and  to 
thy  seed  after  thee," — Gen.  xvii.  7;  "and  in  thy  seed  shall  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed." — Gen.  xxii.  18.  But  the 
church,  as  erected  in  the  family  of  Abraham,  was  not  designed 
for  the  publication  of  the  truth  and  the  proclamation  of  the  pro- 
mise, but  to  keep  and  transmit  it  to  others.  She  was  not  privi- 
leged to  bear  forward  the  standard  into  the  conflict  with  the 
world  and  Satan  for  the  possession  of  the  earth,  but  to  guard  it, 
planted  in  the  camp,  until  the  day  of  battle  and  conquest.  Erected 
in  Canaan,  in  the  very  midst  of  the  lands,  its  light  gleamed  afar 
upon  the  surrounding  nations, — shining,  not  to  dispel,  but  to 
condemn,  the  darkness.  That  was  the  time  of  the  minority  of 
the  church.  As  yet  immature  for  her  great  commission,  she 
was  "under  tutors  and  governors,  until  the  time  appointed  of 
the  Father." — Gal.  iv.  2.  The  saints  of  that  age,  "having  ob- 
tained a  good  report  through  faith,  received  not  the  promise : 
God  having  provided  some  better  thing  for  us,  that  they  with- 
out us  should  not  be  made  perfect." — Heb.  xi.  39,  40. 

At  length  the  fulness  of  time  was  come,  and  God  sent  forth 
his  own  Son  into  the  world.  He  "loved  the  church,  and  gave 
himself  for  it,  that  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it  with  the 
washing  of  water  by  the  Word;  that  he  might  present  it  to  him- 
self a  glorious  church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such 


sect,  x.]        The  Last  Adam  a  Quickening  Spirit  663 

thing;  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without  blemish." — Eph. 
v.  26,  27.  Thus,  having  brought  her  up  for  himself,  did  the  Son 
of  God  celebrate  the  espousals,  purchasing  her  to  himself  at  a 
price  of  blood.  Then  gave  he  her  the  world  as  her  field,  and 
the  nations  as  her  possession,  with  the  promise  that  "the  king- 
dom and  dominion,  and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom  under  the 
whole  heaven,  shall  be  given  to  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the 
Most  High." — Dan.  vii.  27.  Thus  espoused  to  himself,  and  en- 
dowed with  a  goodly  dowry,  he  left  her  for  a  season,  to  return 
and  dwell  with  her  forever.  As  he  departs,  he  gives  her  his 
commission  of  grace : — "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature." — Mark  xvi.  15.  And  "when  he 
ascended  up  on  high,  he  led  captivity  captive,  and  gave  gifts 
unto  men;" — gifts  of  grace  to  the  world,  and  of  love  to  the 
church.  "He  gave  some,  apostles;  and  some,  prophets;  and 
some,  evangelists;  and  some,  pastors  and  teachers;  for  the  per- 
fecting of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  for  the  edify- 
ing of  the  body  of  Christ." — Eph.  iv.  8,  11,  12. 

But  though  thus  organized  and  commissioned,  thus  qualified 
and  endowed,  she  may  not  yet  enter  on  the  glory.  Not  yet  is 
the  kingdom  given  to  Israel.  "It  is  enough  for  the  disciple  that 
he  be  as  his  master,  and  the  servant  as  his  lord." — Matt.  x.  25. 
It  is  enough  for  the  bride  that  she  be  as  her  husband.  If  he 
was  abased  before  the  exaltation, — if  he  shed  his  blood  to  win 
the  glory, — it  is  a  small  thing  that  she  should  be  partaker  in 
the  shame  and  sufferings  of  her  glorious  Head.  Yet,  through 
centuries  of  imbecility  and  unfruitfulness,  of  persecution  and 
apostasy,  must  she  learn,  that  it  is  not  her  own  arm  that 
bringeth  salvation;  that  it  is  not  for  her  sake — faithless  and 
forgetful — that  he  doeth  this,  but  for  his  own  name's  sake ;  that 
it  is  not  by  might  nor  by  power,  but  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
of  hosts,  that  the  world  is  to  be  overcome,  and  the  kingdom  of 
righteousness  and  peace  established.  But  she  shall  at  length 
appear  in  beauty  and  power.  She  shall  "  look  forth  as  the  morn- 
ing, fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army 
with  banners." — Song  of  Solomon,  vi.  10.  Hitherto  hath  she 
rather  bowed  in  widowhood  and  mourning,  than  sat  as  a  queen, 


664  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap.  xxn. 

or  rejoiced  as  a  bride.  But  the  time  draws  near  when  her 
beauty,  hitherto  veiled,  shall  shine  forth; — when,  her  widow- 
hood ended,  her  tears  shall  cease,  and  sorrow  and  mourning 
shall  flee  away. 

Such  is  she  whose  beauty  delights  the  King — the  bride,  glo- 
rious and  radiant  in  purest  gold.  Her  body,  the  blood-bought 
host.  Her  office,  the  vindication  of  the  honour  of  the  Holy  One 
in  the  presence  of  an  apostate  world.  Her  organization  fitted 
in  perfect  adaptation  to  this  end ;  in  the  perfection  of  beauty, — 
the  glory  of  holiness  which  shines  in  her  person;  in  the  divine 
authority  of  her  apostles,  the  wisdom  and  diligence  of  her  evan- 
gelists and  prophets,  her  pastors  and  teachers;  the  zeal  and 
faithfulness,  of  her  elders,  and  the  charity  and  self-sacrifice 
of  her  deacons.  Her  robes, — of  fine  linen,  spotless  white,  em- 
broidered with  gold, — the  marriage  gift  of  her  husband.  Her 
history,  one  of  affliction  and  suffering,  of  toil  and  triumph,  in  his 
service.  To  the  carnal  eye  there  is  in  her,  as  in  .the  King,  no 
form  nor  comeliness.  But  to  him  she  is  altogether  lovely ;  and  to 
all  holy  beings,  how  radiant  does  her  person  appear,  as  she  stands 
before  the  world,  in  the  midst  of  the  darkness  of  man's  apostasy 
and  sin,  and  the  gloom  of  the  curse,  leaning  on  the  arm  of  the 
Beloved,  and  testifying  of  his  loveliness  and  grace;  herself  the 
purchase  of  his  streaming  blood  and  dying  groans;  herself  his 
commissioned  witness  to  the  lost,  proclaiming  peace  and  offering 
salvation;  herself  baptized  by  that  one  Spirit  with  which  he  was 
anointed ;  and  her  whole  being  pervaded  and  quickened  with  the 
power  and  vitality  of  his  life;  she  the  fruitful  mother  of  the 
many  sons  whom  he  will  at  length  assemble  on  high.  Shining 
in  glory  forever,  sharing  with  the  King  in  his  throne,  his  sceptre 
and  power,  shall  she  present  the  perfection  of  beauty  and  the 
fruition  of  joy.  In  her  will  a  wondering  universe  behold  the 
riches  of  God's  condescending  grace,  and  the  majesty  of  the 
Lamb's  redeeming  power ;  her  countenance,  beaming  in  his  per- 
fect likeness,  and  her  beauty  and  blessedness,  her  history  and 
state,  the  noblest  display  of  the  unsearchable  depths  of  God's 
glorious  wisdom  and  ineffable  love,  the  subject  of  angelic  studies, 
and  the  theme  of  all  heaven's  adoring  song. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Christ's  kingdom  and  glory. 

In  the  preceding  pages  we  have  traced  some  of  the  grand 
outlines  of  the  wonderful  system  of  divine  wisdom  and  love. 
2 1.  Recapitu-  Of  the  whole  discussion,  this  is  the  sum.  The 
lotion.  entire  work  of   God  has  its  origin  in  his  eternal 

purpose  to  make  himself  known,  to  the  glory  of  his  own  per- 
fections, the  infinite  blessedness  and  honour  of  man,  and  the 
eternal  happiness  of  all  the  holy  creatures.  That  purpose  was 
embodied  in  a  perfect  and  all-embracing  plan,  which  was  devised 
by  infinite  wisdom,  and  the  fulfilment  of  which  is  secured  by  the 
mutual  covenant  and  oath  of  the  Persons  of  the  Godhead.  By 
that  covenant  the  Son  of  God  was  installed  the  revealing  Medi- 
ator, through  whom  alone  any  creature  can  ever  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  God ;  and  through  whom  all  holy  beings  shall 
attain  to  an  adoring,  loving  and  obedient  communication  with 
the  invisible  One.  By  it  he  was  set  up  the  eternal  King  and 
Head  over  all  things, — to  whose  omnipotent  and  glorious  sceptre 
the  fulfilment  of  the  plan  is  intrusted, — and  ordained  Head  of 
the  elect,  the  church,  in  which,  with  him,  the  grand  elements  of 
the  covenant  concentrate  their  interest,  and  the  glories  of  the 
Godhead  pre-eminently  shine.  By  the  covenant  Mediator  was 
the  material  universe  made  out  of  nothing,  and  so  organized 
and  adapted,  so  upheld  and  governed,  as  to  constitute  at  once  a 
platform  for  the  development  of  the  plan  and  a  proclamation  of 
the  being,  power  and  godhead  of  the  Creator.  The  angelic 
intelligences  were  called  into  being  by  him,  and  endowed  with 
intellectual  and  moral  powers  which  qualify  them  to  behold  and 
appreciate  the  work  of  God,  and  in  it  discover  and  adore  his 
perfections,  alike   as  seen   in   the   material   creation,  revealed 

665 


666  The  Eloldm  Revealed.  [chap,  xxiii. 

in  their  own  moral  natures,  discovered  to  their  consciences,  and 
unfolded  in  the  successive  chapters  of  the  plan.  Their  moral 
natures  constitute  the  first  announcement  of  a  moral  nature  in 
God.  Of  it  the  holy  law  is  a  distinct  exposition  in  didactic 
form,  its  precepts  being  a  transcript  of  the  perfections  of  that 
very  nature.  The  authority  of  that  law  consists  in  the  pro- 
prietary right  of  God  as  the  self-existent  Creator ;  and  its  ex- 
cellence, in  the  fact  that  it  is  an  expression  of  his  perfections,  to 
the  imitation  of  which  it  calls  the  creatures ;  whilst  its  unalter- 
able and  imperative  mandate  asserts  his  absolute  authority,  its 
promise  proclaims  his  goodness,  and  its  penal  curse  reveals  the 
spotless  purity  of  his  holiness,  the  sovereignty  of  his  sceptre, 
the  strictness  of  his  justice  and  terribleness  of  his  wrath.  In 
the  holiness  of  the  elect  angels  is  exemplified  the  excellence  of 
God's  moral  perfections,  whilst  their  blessedness  exhibits,  in  its 
simplest  form,  the  greatness  of  his  goodness  and  love.  Those 
perfections  are  brought  out  in  yet  stronger  relief  by  the  con- 
trasted wickedness  of  Satan's  apostasy,  and  his  moral  deformity 
and  that  of  his  followers;  whilst  naked  justice  and  unmingled 
wrath  shine  forth  in  their  perdition. 

But  whilst  the  godhead  of  the  Eternal  is  signally  proclaimed 
in  the  creation,  and  the  broad  outlines  of  his  moral  perfections 
set  forth  in  his  holy  law,  and  illustrated  in  the  angels,  holy  and 
apostate, — and  whilst  that  law  is  an  unambiguous  intimation  of 
the  plurality  of  the  subsistence  of  the  one  God,  by  virtue  of  the 
fact  that  a  moral  nature  implies  relation,  and,  therefore,  com- 
munity,— yet  were  further  means  requisite  for  the  exhibition 
of  the  glories  of  God  in  unclouded  light ;  for  the  discovery  of 
unbounded  wisdom,  unspotted  holiness  and  unfaltering  justice, 
in  triumphant  harmony  with  infinite  love  and  compassion, 
boundless  mercy  and  grace,  exercised  toward  the  apostate  and 
depraved ;  and  for  the  unfolding  of  the  mystery  of  the  tri-per- 
sonality  of  the  divine  subsistence,  and  the  nature  and  mode  of 
the  relations  of  the  Three  who  subsist  in  the  one  essence  of  the 
invisible  God.  This  earth  is  the  chosen  scene  of  these  dis- 
coveries, and  man  their  subject.  The  dispensation  in  which  they 
are  embraced  is  heralded  by  that  creative  Word,  "  Let  there 


sect,  i.]  Christ s  Kingdom  and  Glory.  667 

be  light!"  and  its  close  is  wrapped  in  the  unspeakable  glories 
of  that  day  when  the  blessed  shall  dwell  in  the  light  of  God's 
very  presence,  and  behold  the  unveiled  glory  of  his  immediate 
face.  Man  is  created  in  the  image  and  likeness  of  God,  and,  as 
such,  enthroned  in  the  presence  of  the  admiring  intelligences  of 
heaven,  in  dominion  over  all  things,  by  a  decree,  the  extensive 
meaning  of  which  is  only  at  length  discovered,  in  the  exaltation 
of  the  Second  Man,  in  his  universal  dominion  and  eternal  throne. 
In  man,  thus  created,  the  moral  likeness  of  God  was  inscribed 
in  his  moral  nature,  endowed  with  reason,  conscience  and  will, 
and  clothed  with  knowledge,  righteousness,  holiness,  freedom 
and  dominion ;  whilst  the  natural  relations  of  the  divine  Per- 
sons to  each  other  are  shadowed  forth  in  his  generative  and 
breathing  nature ;  and  the  unity  of  the  divine  essence  is  attested 
by  that  of  the  nature,  which,  one  in  the  first  man,  is  propagated 
to  his  seed :  shadows,  these,  which,  however  obscure,  harbinger 
the  light  which  shines  in  the  second  Adam  and  his  body  the 
church. 

Seduced  by  Satan,  man  fell  from  honour,  apostatized  from 
holiness,  and  rebelled  against  God.  The  suspension  of  the 
stroke  of  justice  was  the  announcement  of  perfections  as  yet 
undiscovered  in  the  divine  nature, — of  love  to  the  ungodly,  of 
mercy  to  the  guilty,  and  justice  in  harmony  with  forgiving  grace; 
and  the  utterance  of  the  promise  with  its  gradually  unfolding 
light,  was  a  proclamation  of  that  everlasting  covenant  in  the 
provisions  of  which  the  moral  nature  of  God  and  the  relations 
of  the  Three,  are  so  signally  revealed  to  the  veiled  adoration  of 
the  creatures. 

In  the  fulfilment  of  that  covenant,  the  Son  of  God  clothes  him- 
self in  flesh  and  appears  upon  earth  arrayed  in  a  glory  as  of  the 
only  begotten  of  the  Father.  As  the  whole  antecedent  creative 
and  providential  administration  of  the  Son  was  preliminary  to 
his  own  personal  entrance  upon  the  stage,  so  all  the  other  irra- 
diations of  the  divine  glory  concentrate  their  light  in  his  per- 
son, relations  and  work.  He  is  the  Alpha  and  Omega,  the 
beginning  and  the  end.  In  him  are  hid  all  the  treasures  of 
wisdom  and  knowledge.     If  the  creation  proclaims  a  Great  First 


668  The  Elolrim  Revealed.  [chap,  xxiii. 

Cause, — He  by  whom  all  things  were  made;  and  in  whom  they 
consist,  announces  the  Father,  that  Cause.  If  the  moral  intel- 
ligences, angelic  and  human,  in  their  endowments  shadow  forth 
the  moral  attributes  of  the  Godhead, — those  which  shine  in  the 
Son  are  the  very  counterpart  of  the  Father's  perfections.  If  the 
law  constitutes  a  mirror  of  those  perfections  in  another  form, 
that  law  shines  in  its  most  exalted  majesty  in  the  obedience  of 
Christ;  its  excellence,  in  the  righteousness  which  he  wrought; 
and  its  justice,  in  the  curse  which  he  bore.  The  covenant  of 
works  attested  the  divine  beneficence,  proposing  the  gratuitous 
dispensation  of  eternal  life,  upon  condition  of  the  uncertain  obe- 
dience of  the  creatures.  How  rich,  then,  the  grace  which  the 
everlasting  covenant  reveals,  bestowing,  not  merely  eternal  life, 
but  sonship  to  God,  membership  in  Christ,  and  joint  inheritance 
with  him  in  the  kingdom  and  glory  of  God,  upon  the  sole  con- 
dition of  the  infallible  righteousness  of  the  very  Son  of  God  him- 
self. The  first  man  was  of  the  earth,  earthy;  yet  was  counted 
worthy  to  be  installed  the  official  likeness  of  God.  But  the 
second  man  is  himself  the  Lord  from  heaven.  Himself  the 
Second  Person  of  the  Trinity, — by  nature  the  express  image  of 
the  Father's  Person, — and  by  the  Father  endowed  with  the  Holy 
Spirit  without  measure, — in  him  thus  dwelleth  all  the  Fulness 
of  the  Godhead  bodily.  In  his  person  thus  gloriously  endowed, 
— in  the  purpose  which  brought  him  to  earth,  and  his  work  here 
accomplished, — in  his  obedience  to  the  law, — in  his  conquest  of 
Satan,  endurance  of  the  curse,  and  ascension  to  heaven, — in  the 
glory  there  possessed,  and  the  dominion  thence  exercised, — in 
the  organization  of  his  church, — in  his  relation  as  her  Head, — in 
the  erection  by  her  of  a  testimony  to  his  word,  the  ingathering 
of  the  elect,  the  inheritance  to  which  they  are  called,  and  the 
perdition  of  his  enemies, — in  the  distinctive  agency  of  the  seve- 
ral Persons  of  the  Godhead  in  the  work  of  Grace, — in  these  va- 
rious and  wonderful  forms  have  we  the  elements  of  that  dispen- 
sation of  light  of  which  the  Sun  of  righteousness  is  the  source. 
$  2.  Messiah's  Having  by  his  obedience  vindicated  the  perfection 
kingdom.  0f  the  law,  and  fulfilled  an  everlasting  righteousness, 

and  by  his  sufferings  and  death  atoned  for  sin,  the  Son  of  man 


sect,  i.]  Christ'' s  Kingdom  and  Glory.  669 

arose  from  the  dead  ascended  to  glory,  and  assumed  the  cove- 
nant throne,  and  that  dominion  over  all  creatures  to  which  man 
was  ordained,  in  his  creation.  Him  "the  heaven  must  re- 
ceive until  the  times  of  restitution  of  all  things,  which  God  hath 
spoken  by  the  mouth  of  all  his  holy  prophets,  since  the  world 
began." — Acts  iii.  21. 

Although  thus  enthroned  in  absolute  and  universal  dominion, 
angels  and  principalities  and  powers  being  subject  to  him,  the  past 
ages  of  the  administration  of  the  Son  of  God  have  been  in  a 
great  measure  a  time  of  the  hiding  of  his  power.  Heretofore, 
he  has  been  pleased  to  allow  the  depravity  and  wickedness  of  man 
to  develop  itself  upon  a  gigantic  scale,  in  a  multitude  of  forms, 
through  successive  ages,  and  despite  every  variety  of  persuasive 
and  restraining  influences.  Thus  is  developed  in  appalling  form 
the  evidence  and  measure  of  the  malignant  evil  of  man's  sin, 
and  the  unworthiness  and  depravity  of  that  race  for  whom  God's 
love  provided  the  blood  of  Calvary.  Heretofore,  of  the  adult 
population  of  the  earth,  the  great  multitude  have  lived  in  open 
rebellion  against  God,  and  died  without  hope. 

What  remains  is  veiled  under  the  shadows  of  the  future.  But 
the  lamp  of  prophecy  discloses  the  dim  outlines  of  the  coming 
administration  of  Messiah's  kingdom,  and  the  triumphant 
consummation  of  his  glorious  reign.  It  is  not  for  us  "to 
know  the  times  or  the  seasons  which  the  Father  hath  put  in 
his  own  power." — Acts  i.  7.  But  the  fact  is  declared  in  the  most 
unambiguous  terms,  that,  deep  as  were  the  humiliation  and  shame 
of  the  incarnate  Son  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  proportionately 
great  shall  be  the  exaltation,  the  dominion  and  glory,  which  he 
shall  enjoy  on  this  very  earth  which  witnessed  his  temptations 
and  quaked  at  his  dying  cry; — that  proportionate  to  the  pre- 
ciousness  of  his  atoning  blood,  and  dignity  of  his  Mediatorial 
person,  will  be  the  number  of  the  trophies  of  his  redeeming 
grace; — that  although  Satan  may  be  permitted  to  deceive  the 
world  for  a  season,  and  even  seem  to  maintain  a  doubtful  struggle 
for  the  mastery  of  the  nations  and  the  defeat  of  the  purposes  of 
God  and  the  grace  of  Messiah,  his  overthrow  will  be  as  complete 
as  his  pride  and  malice  are  great,  and  the  reward  of  all  his  wiles 


670  The  Eloliim  Revealed.  [chap,  xxiii. 

will  be  returned  upon  himself  in  utter  discomfiture,  eternal  de- 
struction and  overwhelming  shame.  Without  attempting  to 
enter  into  the  prophetic  question,  or  to  dogmatize  on  the  subject, 
the  following  points  may  be  stated,  as  clearly  presented  on  the 
face  of  the  sacred  record. 

1.  The  kingdom  of  Messiah  on  earth  will  be  inaugurated  in 
some  manner  as  signal,  and  his  throne  be  established  in  a  sove- 
\  3.  it*  coming  reign ty  as  emphatically  announced,  and  as  distinctly 
will  be  sudden,  recognised,  as  though  he  himself  should  come  in  per- 
son, in  the  glory  of  the  Father,  to  set  it  up.  Of  this  we  can 
only  cite  two  or  three  points  of  the  evidence: — "Thou  sawest," 
says  Daniel  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  "  till  that  a  stone  was  cut  out 
without  hands,  which  smote  the  image  upon  his  feet  that  were 
of  iron  and  clay,  and  brake  them  to  pieces.  Then  was  the  iron, 
the  clay,  the  brass,  the  silver,  and  the  gold,  broken  to  pieces  to- 
gether, and  became  like  the  chaff  of  the  summer  threshing-floors ; 
and  the  wind  carried  them  away,  that  no  place  was  found  for 
them:  and  the  stone  that  smote  the  image  (nin:)  was  a  great 
mountain,  and  filled  the  whole  earth."  Of  this  vision  Daniel 
gives  the  interpretation: — "In  the  days  of  these  kings  shall  the 
God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom,  which  shall  never  be  destroyed : 
and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other  people,  but  it  shall 
break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these  kingdoms,  and  it  shall 
stand  forever." — Dan.  ii.  34,  35,  44.  The  date  of  this  transac- 
tion is  here  given.  It  is  to  be  in  the  time  of  the  ten  kingdoms 
which  were  to  arise  out  of  the  Koman  empire.  The  nature  of 
the  transaction  is  equally  clear.  Those  kingdoms  are  destined 
to  an  overthrow  sudden  as  the  smiting  of  a  stone. 

Equally  distinct  and  unequivocal  is  the  parallel  prophecy  of 
the  seventh  chapter  of  Daniel.  In  the  days  of  the  little  horn, — 
the  papal  power, — Daniel  "beheld  till  the  thrones  were  cast  down, 
and  the  Ancient  of  days  did  sit.  ...  I  beheld  then  because  of  the 
voice  of  the  great  words  which  the  horn  spake :  I  beheld  even 
till  the  beast  was  slain,  and  his  body  destroyed,  and  given  to  the 
burning  flame.  ...  I  saw  in  the  night  visions,  and  behold,  one 
like  the  Son  of  man  came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  came 
to  the  Ancient  of  days,  and  they  brought  him  near  before  him. 


sect,  il]  Christ s  Kingdom  and  Glory.  671 

And  there  was  given  him  dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom, 
that  all  people,  nations  and  languages,  should  serve  him." — Dan. 
vii.  9-14. 

Of  that  man  of  sin  and  son  of  perdition,  which  is  designated 
in  Daniel's  prophecy  as  the  little  horn,  Paul  says,  respecting  his 
own  time,  that  "  the  mystery  of  iniquity  doth  already  work :  only 
he  who  now  letteth  will  let,  until  he  be  taken  out  of  the  way. 
And  then  shall  that  Wicked  be  revealed,  whom  the  Lord  shall 
consume  with  the  Spirit  of  his  mouth,  and  shall  destroy  with 
the  brightness  of  his  coming." — 2  Thess.  ii.  7,  8.  In  harmony 
with  these  testimonies  is  that  of  John  in  the  Revelation: — "And 
the  seventh  angel  poured  out  his  vial  into  the  air;  and  there 
came  a  great  voice  out  of  the  temple  of  heaven,  from  the  throne, 
saying,  It  is  done.  And  there  were  voices,  and  thunders,  and 
lightnings;  and  there  was  a  great  earthquake,  such  as  was  not 
since  men  were  upon  the  earth,  so  mighty  an  earthquake  and  so 
great.  And  the  great  city  was  divided  into  three  parts,  and  the 
cities  of  the  nations  fell:  and  great  Babylon  came  in  remem- 
brance before  God,  to  give  unto  her  the  cup  of  the  wine  of  the 
fierceness  of  his  wrath." — Rev.  xvi.  17-19.  "And  after  these 
things  I  saw  another  angel  come  down  from  heaven,  and  the 
earth  was  lightened  with  his  glory.  And  he  cried  mightily  with 
a  strong  voice,  saying,  Fallen,  fallen  is  Babylon  the  great.  .  .  . 
Her  plagues  shall  come  in  one  day,  death,  and  mourning,  and 
famine ;  and  she  shall  be  utterly  burned  with  fire :  for  strong  is 
the  Lord  God  that  judgeth  her.  .  .  .  And  a  mighty  angel  took 
up  a  stone  like  a  great  millstone,  and  cast  it  into  the  sea,  saying, 
Thus  with  violence  shall  that  great  city  Babylon  be  thrown  down, 
and  shall  be  found  no  more  at  all." — Rev.  xviii.  1,  2,  8,  21. 

Without  appeal  to  the  many  other  corresponding  scriptures, 
we  take  the  following  points  to  be  abundantly  manifest  in  these : 
— (1.)  The  Roman  papal  power  will  be  the  last  of  those  anti- 
Christian  kingdoms  by  which  Satan's  sceptre  is  exercised  on  the 
earth.  The  coming  and  kingdom  of  Christ  are  coincident,  in 
time,  with  its  utter  overthrow.  Its  destruction  is  to  be  occa- 
sioned by  that  coming.  (2.)  That  destruction  will  be  sudden, 
violent  and  utter, — as  the  dashing  of  an  image  in  pieces ;  as  the 


672  The  Mohim  Revealed.  [chap,  xxiii. 

plunging  of  a  millstone  in  the  sea;  as  the  consuming  flame  of 
Jehovah's  breath.  (3.)  It  will  be  accomplished  in  a  manner  sig- 
nally impressive  to  the  spectators.  The  shock  of  an  earthquake 
of  unparalleled  violence,  the  overthrow  of  the  cities  of  the  na- 
tions, the  mournings  and  wailings  of  the  people  and  kings  of  the 
earth,  and  the  triumphant  Allelulias  of  God's  people,  are  the 
attendant  circumstances.  (4.)  The  kingdom  of  Christ,  then  esta- 
blished, will  never  pass  away.  It  may  be  administered  under 
other  forms  of  increasing  glory ;  but  that  throne,  once  established, 
will  be  the  final  kingdom  of  earth,  the  eternal  dominion  of  Im- 
manuel.  It  "  shall  never  be  destroyed ;"  "  and  the  kingdom  shall 
not  be  left  to  other  people,"  as  the  Persians  yielded  the  sceptre 
to  the  Greeks,  and  they,  again,  to  the  Romans;  "but  it  shall 
stand  forever." — Dan.  ii.  44. 

2.  A  second  point  which  is  fully  attested  in  the  Scriptures  is, 
that,  under  Messiah's  reign  thus  established,  the  sceptre  of 
g  4.  Ail  flesh  grace  will  exercise  an  unlimited  and  undivided  sway 
shall  be  holy.  over  the  entire  earth,  subduing  sin  and  blotting  out 
the  curse.  Satan  will  be  bound,  man's  depravity  subdued,  the 
idols  abolished,  ignorance  dispelled,  the  curse  taken  off  the  earth, 
the  fruitfulness  of  Eden  restored,  and  sorrow  and  mourning  shall 
flee  away.  God  declares  by  Jeremiah,  "This  shall  be  the  covenant 
that  I  will  make  with  the  house  of  Israel :  After  those  days,  saith 
the  Lord,  I  will  put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts,  and  write  it 
in  their  hearts ;  and  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my 
people.  And  they  shall  teach  no  more  every  man  his  neighbour, 
and  every  man  his  brother,  saying,  Know  the  Lord :  for  all 
shall  know  me,  from  the  least  of  them  unto  the  greatest  of 
them." — Jer.  xxxi.  33,  34.  Should  any  be  disposed  to  limit 
this  promise  to  Israel  after  the  flesh,  the  language  in  respect  to 
the  Gentiles  is  equally  strong : — "  In  this  mountain  shall  the 
Lord  of  hosts  make  unto  all  people  a  feast  of  fat  things,  a  feast 
of  wines  on  the  lees,  of  fat  things  full  of  marrow,  of  wines  on 
the  lees  well  refined.  And  he  will  destroy  in  this  mountain 
the  face  of  the  covering  cast  over  all  people,  and  the  veil  that  is 
spread  over  all  nations.  He  will  swallow  up  death  in  victory  ; 
and  the  Lord  God  will  wipe  away  tears  from  off  all  faces." — Isa. 


sect,  in.]  Christ's  Kingdom  and  Glory.  673 

xxv.  6-8.  Again,  says  God  to  the  Messiah,  "It  is  a  light  thing- 
that  thou  shouldst  be  my  Servant  to  raise  up  the  tribes  of 
Jacob,  and  to  restore  the  preserved  of  Israel.  I  will  also  give 
thee  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  that  thou  mayest  be  my  salva- 
tion to  the  end  of  the  earth." — Isa.  xlix.  6.  So,  he  says  to  the 
nations,  "  Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of  the 
earth  :  for  I  am  God,  and  there  is  none  else.  I  have  sworn  by 
myself,  the  word  is  gone  out  of  my  mouth  in  righteousness,  and 
shall  not  return,  That  unto  me  every  knee  shall  bow,  every 
tongue  shall  swear." — Isa.  xlv.  22,  23.  In  short,  "The  earth 
shall  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  as 
the  waters  cover  the  sea." — Hab.  ii.  14. 

In  respect  to  such  language  as  this,  which  presents  itself 
everywhere  in  the  Bible,  there  are  two  or  three  remarks  which 
must  commend  themselves  to  the  reverent  students  of  that 
book  : — (1.)  These  prophecies  all  unanimously  point  to  one  time, 
the  time  of  the  kingdom  of  the  son  of  David.  (2.)  Were  it  the 
design  of  the  Spirit  of  truth  to  describe  a  time  in  which  holiness 
should  be  universal,  the  curse  blotted  out,  and  the  world  an  un- 
spotted trophy  of  God's  redeeming  grace,  it  would  be  utterly 
impossible  to  find  stronger  language  to  express  it  than  that  which 
is  actually  used.  (3.)  The  statements  of  the  Scriptures  on  the 
subject  present  themselves  as  standards  by  which  we  are  to 
estimate  the  extent  of  the  Redeemer's  triumph  over  Satan,  sin 
and  the  curse.  It  would  seem  as  though  that  triumph  would 
be  incomplete  if  this  earth,  where  Satan  and  sin  have  ruled  so 
long,  were  not  the  scene  of  a  reign  of  holiness  as  glorious  as 
these  prophecies  describe. 

3.  Whether  we  count  the  thousand  years,  which  are  stated  by 
John,  (Rev.  xx.  2,)  as  prophetic  time,  numbering  three  hundred 
I  5.  The  time  and  sixty-five  thousand  secular  years,  or  regard 
protracted.  them  as  a  definite  for  an  indefinite  period  im- 
mensely great, — the  kingdom  of  Christ  on  earth  shall  have  a 
continuance  amply  sufficient  to  vindicate  the  honour  of  God  in 
respect  to  the  brief  centuries  of  Satan's  dominion.  The  earth, 
blooming  in  an  Eden  fertility,  and  sustaining  an  innumerable 
population,  will  render  to  heaven  a  revenue  of  souls  redeemed 

43 


674  The  Elokim  Revealed.  [chap,  xziii. 

"which,  as  compared  in  number  with  the  lost,  will  fully  manifest 
the  triumph  of  the  Redeemer  in  respect  to  that  aspect  of  his 
conflict  with  Satan,  and  victory  over  his  malice.  The  throng 
which  will  stand  before  the  Lamb  in  his  glory,  washed  and 
made  white  in  his  blood,  will  be  a  great  multitude,  which  no 
man  can  number,  of  all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  people,  and 
tongues. 

"Then  cometh  the  end."  Blessed  as  are  the  subjects  of  the 
millennial  sceptre,  theirs  is  not  the  final  inheritance  of  the  saints, 
g  6.  Satan's  Glorious  as  is  the  sovereignty  then  exercised  by  the 
iwt  struggle.  Prince  of  peace,  and  abject  as  will  be  Satan  in  chains, 
yet  more  glorious  shall  be  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  and 
more  signal  his  power  and  vengeance  on  the  enemy.  The  happy 
scenes  of  the  millennial  age  have  no  persuasive  influence  on  Satan, 
to  reconcile  his  heart  to  holiness,  or  subdue  his  hate  against  God. 
His  own  experience  of  the  omnipotent  power  of  the  Son,  holding 
him  in  bonds  through  all  those  ages,  has  not  quelled  his  rebel- 
lion, or  taught  him  to  restrain  his  impotent  rage.  One  more 
lesson  will  he  serve  to  teach  the  adoring  disciples  in  the  school 
of  the  incarnate  Word,  before  the  mystery  is  finished.  As  a 
final  illustration  of  the  enormous  and  intolerable  evil  of  sin,  he 
is  loosed  out  of  his  prison.  Immediately  he  resumes  his  charac- 
ter of  liar-seducer,  and  goes  out  to  deceive  the  nations  which  are 
in  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth,  Gog  and  Magog,  to  gather 
them  together  to  battle.  Whether  he  is  permitted  to  induce  a 
general  apostasy  of  the  subjects  of  Messiah,  as  some  have  ima- 
gined,— or  whether,  contemporaneous  with  his  loosing  from  prison, 
the  wicked  dead  will  be  raised,  and  permitted  to  give  this  final 
display  of  their  unrelenting  wickedness,  as  others  have  supposed, 
— a  host  is  gathered,  in  number  as  the  sand  of  the  sea.  "And 
they  went  up  on  the  breadth  of  the  earth,  and  compassed  the 
camp  of  the  saints  about,  and  the  beloved  city :  and  fire  came 
down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  and  devoured  them.  And  the 
devil  that  deceived  them  was  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire  and  brim- 
stone, where  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet  are,  and  shall  be 
tormented  day  and  night  for  ever  and  ever." — Eev.  xx.  9,  10. 

In  immediate  connection  with  the  account  which  John  gives 


sect,  v.]  Christ's  Kingdom  and  Glory.  675 

of  this  final  overthrow  and  doom  of  Satan,  he  announces  the  last 
§7.  The  last  judgment,  and  the  consummation  of  all  things.  That 
judgment.  tremendous  assize  is  heralded  with  a  shout,  and  the 

voice  of  the  archangel,  and  the  trump  of  God.  And  lo!  the  Son 
of  man  cometh  in  the  fiery  chariot  of  God.  Thousand  thousands 
stand  before  him,  and  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  minister 
unto  him.  The  chariots  of  God  are  twenty  thousand ;  the  Lord 
is  among  them :  whilst  all  the  mighty  angels  wait  in  his  train. 
At  the  sound  of  his  coming,  his  sleeping  saints  awake,  incor- 
ruptible ;  and,  with  the  living  transformed,  are  caught  up  to  meet 
him,  with  songs  of  praise  and  shouts  of  joy.  The  glory  of  the 
Father  robes  his  person,  the  sceptre  of  the  Father  fills  his  hand, 
and  the  Father's  throne  is  his  seat  of  judgment.  The  wicked 
nations  are  cited  to  his  tribunal,  and  in  shrieking  despair 
strive  in  vain  to  hide  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb.  The  legions 
of  Satan  in  terror  obey  his  omnipotent  call,  and  recognise  this 
as  the  time  of  their  doom.  Every  creature  appears  before  the 
Son  of  man,  and  every  eye  beholds  the  glory  of  the  victim  of  Cal- 
vary. Displaying  the  wounds  in  his  person,  and  recalling  the 
days  of  his  flesh,  he  claims  his  elect  as  his  righteous  and  cove- 
nant reward.  In  them  all  creatures  see  his  image, — their  bodies 
fashioned  like  his  glorious  body,  and  robed  in  the  image  of  his 
own  revealed  glory;  their  souls  perfect  in  his  holiness;  their 
persons  united  to  him  by  his  Spirit,  and  clothed  in  garments 
washed  in  his  blood,  and  their  names  recorded  in  his  book  of 
life.  He  says  to  them,  "Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit 
the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world." 
"Ye  are  they  which  have  continued  with  me  in  my  temptations. 
Sit  ye,  therefore,  with  me  in  my  throne."  And  amid  the  ad- 
miring songs  of  the  seraphic  host,  and  the  despairing  rage  of 
their  enemies  and  his,  the  Judge  receives  the  partakers  of  his 
sufferings  and  shame  to  be  sharers  of  his  throne  and  assessors  in 
the  judgment: — "Do  ye  not  know  that  the  saints  shall  judge  the 
world?  .  .  .  Know  ye  not  that  we  shall  judge  angels?" — 1  Cor. 
vi.  2,  3. 

At  that  tribunal  the  elect  angels  appear.     Of  them,  too,  the 
second  Man,  the  eternal  Son,  is  the  sovereign  and  judge.     The 


676  The  EloJum  Revealed.  [chap,  xxiii. 

Father,  who  "set  him  at  his  own  right  hand  in  the  heavenly 
places,  far  above  all  principality,  and  power,  and  might,  and  do- 
minion, and  every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in  this  world, 
but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come,  and  hath  put  all  things  under 
his  feet,"  did  so  in  order  that  "in  the  dispensation  of  the  fulness 
of  times  he  might  gather  together  in  one  all  things  in  Christ,  both 
which  are  in  heaven  and  which  are  on  earth." — Eph.  i.  20-22,  10. 

That  blessed  host  is  called  before  him.  In  his  work  of  crea- 
tion,— in  his  providential  government,  and  his  holy  law, — in 
their  own  natures  and  history,  and  in  those  of  the  apostate 
angels, — in  the  nature  and  history  of  the  first  Adam  and  his 
race,  and  the  second  Adam  and  his  redeemed,  they  have  been 
adoring  learners  of  the  mystery  and  glory  of  the  invisible  God; 
and  by  Christ's  Spirit  have  been  upheld  in  faithfulness,  and  built 
up  in  growing  holiness.  And  now  by  the  touch  of  his  golden 
sceptre  are  they  confirmed  in  holiness,  and  sealed  to  eternal 
life. 

The  books  of  record  of  the  deeds  of  the  wicked  are  opened. 
The  wickedness  of  their  rebellions  and  sins  is  displayed.  God's 
long-suffering  and  love- are  made  manifest;  and  his  justice  pro- 
claimed and  approved  by  the  holy  ones; — and  the  Judge  pro- 
nounces the  doom : — "  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlast- 
ing fire  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels."  Driven  from 
his  presence,  they  are  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire,  where  the  devil 
and  the  beast  and  false  prophet  are,  and  shall  be  tormented  day 
and  night  for  ever  and  ever.  "And  death  and  hell  were  cast 
into  the  lake  of  fire."  Sole  monument  of  God's  retributive 
wrath,  that  pit  of  woe  will  forever  remain, — its  accursed  pri- 
soners trophies  of  the  power  and  justice  of  the  Son  of  man, — as 
their  wickedness  testifies  to  the  boundless  depths  of  His  compas- 
sion who  died  for  such,  and  to  the  glory  of  the  transforming  grace 
by  which  the  redeemed,  by  nature  such  as  these,  are  fitted  for 
heaven.  Shut  up  in  hell,  death  and  the  grave  and  the  curse 
will  be  known  no  more. 

Attended  by  saints  and  angels,  principalities  and  powers, — 
accompanied  with  the  trumpet  of  God,  the  harps  of  heaven  and 


sect,  vii.]  Christ's  Kingdom  and  Glory.  677 

a  8.  Thekiug-  ^ie  songs  °f  universal  praise, — will  the  triumph  of 
dom  delivered  the  Conqueror  of  death  and  hell  come  to  the  throng 
to  the  Father.  0f  ^  Father.  He  there  presents  the  angelic  hosts, 
— monuments  of  his  goodness  and  power, — and  the  redeemed, — 
trophies  of  his  love, — all  of  whom,  saints  and  angels,  are  elect 
of  the  Father,  and  beloved  from  everlasting.  "Behold  I  and 
the  children  which  thou  hast  given  me."  His  angels  are  ap- 
proved; his  redeemed  accepted;  the  Mediator  of  the  covenant 
justified  on  its  terms;  and  its  finished  work  proclaimed.  Then 
shall  the  Son  also  deliver  up  the  kingdom  to  God  even  the  Father. 
Not  the  throne  of  David;  for  that  is  his  as  David's  Son.  Not 
the  sceptre  of  his  grace,  by  which  he  is  Prophet,  Priest  and  King 
of  his  redeemed.  That  belongs  to  him  as  Head  of  the  body, — 
it  was  purchased  by  him  at  the  price  of  his  blood,  and  sealed  to 
him  in  the  eternal  covenant.  But  he  resigns  that  sceptre,  that 
throne  and  headship  over  all  things,  which  was  given  to  him  in 
the  covenant,  as  the  vicegerent,  the  image  and  revealer,  of  the 
invisible  God, — the  Lord  of  all  creatures  on  the  Father's  behalf. 
Nor  does  Iranian uel  cease  to  be  the  coequal  Son.  Having  over- 
come, he  sitteth  forever  with  the  Father  in  his  throne, — the 
throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb.  But  He,  the  Father, — who  was 
known,  before,  only  through  the  Son, — dwelling  thenceforth  in 
the  new  Jerusalem,  admits  his  creatures  into  his  own  immediate 
presence ;  unveils  his  own  face  to  their  adoring  view ;  and  bestows 
upon  them,  with  his  own  hand,  the  treasures  of  his  love. 
§  o.  The  new  Purged  by  fire  and  renewed,  the  earth  is  fitted 

Jerusalem.  for  the  abode  of  God;  and  the  holy  city,  new  Je- 
rusalem, comes  down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride 
adorned  for  her  husband.  In  the  midst  of  its  street  flows  the 
river  of  the  water  of  life  from  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb  ; 
and  on  either  side  of  the  river  is  the  tree  of  life,  which  bears 
twelve  manner  of  fruits,  and  yields  her  fruit  every  month ;  and 
the  leaves  of  the  tree  are  for  the  healing  of  the  nations.  In  it 
is  no  temple;  for  the  Lord  God  Almighty  and  the  Lamb  are  the 
temple  of  it.  Before  the  very  throne  itself  the  saints  present 
their  offerings  and  utter  their  praises.  "Behold,  the  tabernacle 
of  God  is  with  men,  and  he  will  dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall 


678  The  Elohim  Revealed.  [chap,  xxiii. 

be  his  people,  and  God  himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their 
God.  And  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes ;  and 
there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor  crying,  neither 
shall  there  be  any  more  pain :  for  the  former  things  are  passed 
away.  And  he  that  sat  upon  the  throne  said,  Behold  I  make 
all  things  new.  And  he  said,  It  is  done.  I  am  Alpha  and 
Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end."  It  is  done. — The  mystery 
of  God  manifested  in  the  flesh  is  finished.  The  terms  of  the  ever- 
lasting covenant  are  fulfilled,  and  its  objects  accomplished.  The 
matchless  glories  of  the  divine  perfections  have  been  made 
known,  and  the  creatures  blessed  in  the  knowledge.  The  wick- 
edness of  sin  has  been  demonstrated;  and  the  sovereignty  and 
justice,  the  power  and  wisdom,  the  grace  and  wrath  of  the 
Father  illustrated,  by  occasion  thereof.  Death  is  swallowed  up 
in  victory,  the  curse  blotted  out,  life  and  immortality  brought 
to  light,  and  Eden  restored. 

What  the  revelations  contained  in  the  book  of  God  then 
opened,  they  will  know  who  shall  have  part  in  the  marriage- 
supper  of  the  Lamb.  But  of  this  we  are  assured : — There  shall 
be  no  night  there.  Nor  will  they  have  need  of  the  sun,  neither 
of  the  moon,  to  shine  upon  them,  for  the  Lord  God  giveth  them 
light,  the  glory  of  God  doth  lighten  them,  and  the  Lamb  is  their 
light.     And  they  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever. 

Blessed  be  the  Lord  God,  the  God  of  Israel,  who  only  doeth 
wondrous  things.  And  blessed  be  his  glorious  name,  for  ever 
and  ever:  and  let  the  whole  earth  be  filled  with  his  glory. 
Amen  and  Amen. 


INDEX. 


Abelard,  on  original  sin,  p.  26;  on  the  nominal  philosophy,  26. 

Abel's  death,  272. 

Ability,  natural  and  moral,  524. 

Abrahamic  covenant. — Embraced  Abraham's  seed,  315.  Its  history,  549, 
662. 

Actions. — Designed  to  shadow  forth  the  divine  activity,  248 ;  to  discover 
the  moral  nature  of  the  agent,  248 ;  have  in  themselves  no  moral 
character,  255. 

Adam. — The  image  and  likeness  of  God,  132;  of  God  the  Triune,  143. 
His  name,  133.  That  likeness  was  in  presence  of  the  universe, 
135.  His  body  immortal,  136.  His  soul,  152.  His  moral  powers, 
152, 172.  His  knowledge,  mature,  173 ;  extensive,  174;  and  perfect, 
181.  His  righteousness  and  holiness, — the  difference,  182.  His 
dominion,  184;  it  Christ  possesses,  96.  He  was  under  law,  had 
there  been  no  covenant,  281.  The  covenant  was  gratuitous  to  him, 
280.  The  law  and  covenant  were  written  in  his  heart,  in  his  crea- 
tion, 155,  286.,  323.  His  creation  was  that  of  man  generically,  133, 
428,  496,  507.  He  was  the  covenant  head  of  the  race,  305.  Cause 
of  his  headship,  308.  Key  to  the  family  constitution,  314.  As  a 
father  he  was  a  type  of  Christ,  322,  421.  The  parallel  between 
them,  319.  The  apostasy,  385.  It  took  place  by  man's  free  will, 
386.  It  was  an  assumption  of  bondage  to  sin,  395, 531.  Elements  of 
the  sin,  475,  543.  The  sin  intrinsically  ours,  427,  474  ;  this  the  doc- 
trine of  Poole  and  Parseus,  474 ;  of  Goodwin,  42,  499 ;  of  Rutherford, 
468 ;  of  Owen,  443 ;  of  Boston,  45 ;  of  the  Reformed  confessions,  29 ; 
of  the  continental  divines,  34;  of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  39. 
It  does  not  prevent  but  establish  personal  responsibility,  500. 

Adam, — The  Second,  578.  He  was  the  antitype  of  the  first,  322,  421. 
The  parallel,  319.  His  true  manhood,  579;  it  was  sinless,  587. 
His  divinity,  588.  In  his  person,  the  fulness  of  the  Triune  God- 
head, and  of  redeemed  humanity,  602.  His  obedience,  613.  His 
submission  to  the  curse,  615.  He  bore  the  very  penalty  of  the  law, 
620.  How  he  came  under  the  curse,  606.  His  conflicts  with  Satan, 
628.  His  finished  work,  635.  His  ascension  to  heaven,  637.  His 
the  Adamic  throne,  96,  667.  His  kingdom,  665,  668.  He  is  a  quick- 
ening Spirit,  638.  Manner  in  which  he  bestows  his  redemption, 
and  elements  of  it,  638-655.  The  church  his  body,  656.  His 
kingdom  and  glory,  665,  668.     He  will  sit  as  judge,  675. 

Adoption,  occurs  through  union  with  the  eternal  Son,  69,  646.  It  conveys 
a  title  to  the  kingdom  and  inheritance  with  Christ,  647. 

Alexander  (A.),  on  motives  and  the  will,  161. 

(J.  A.),  on  the  title,  "Father  of  Ages,"  353. 

Ambrose  of  Milan,  on  original  sin,  16. 

Angels. — Their  creation,  90.  They  are  causative  agents,  122.  Are  wit- 
nesses and  students  of  the  revealed  glory  of  God,  90,  97,  136,  141. 

679 


680  Index. 

Are  subject  with  man  to  the  moral  law,  214.  Will  be  confirmed 
by  Christ  at  the  judgment,  577,  676. 

Aristotle's  definition  of  liberty,  171 ;  and  of  the  soul,  344. 

Armageddon,  674. 

Apostasy  of  Adam,  385.  It  was  by  free  will,  386.  It  was  of  man's  nature, 
246,  395.  It  is  the  crime  of  the  race,  427,  474.  We  owe  contrition 
for  it,  44,  496.  The  criminality  of  the  apostasy,  and  that  of  the 
depravity  embraced  are  one  and  inseparable,  527. 

Articles  of  the  church  of  England,  on  original  sin,  31. 

Augustine,  on  the  origin  of  the  soul,  19,  335,  368,  375;  on  the  doctrine 
of  original  sin,  19,  496 ;  on  the  exposition  of  Kom.  v.  14,  420. 

Baptism  into  Christ,  610. 

Barnes,  on  Adam's  primitive  condition,  175;  on  the  evil  of  sin,  260;  on 

Eom.  v.  12,  412;  on  the  penalty  of  the  law,  264;  on  the  satisfaction 

of  Christ,  616. 
Baronius,  on  the  origin  of  the  soul,  341. 
Basle  confessions,  on  original  sin,  29,  30. 
Beeciier  (E.),  on  God's  sovereignty,  191.     He  sets  fate  above  God,  194. 

His  doctrine  that  of  Rousseau  and  Paine,  197.     His  principles  of 

honour  and  right,  191.     These  principles  are  Brahma,  210.     His 

doctrine  eclipses  God's  glory,  235.     His  experiment  of  them,  207. 

Princeton  Review  upon  his  doctrine  of  apparent  causation,  491. 

His  testimony  on  human  depravity,  510. 
Belgic  confession,  on  original  sin,  31. 
Bellamy,  on  God's  sovereignty,  188.     His  optimism,  400. 
Blackstone's  definition  of  a  covenant,  295. 
Boston,  on  original  sin,  45,  on  the  covenant  of  grace,  608. 
Brahma,  and  Beecher's  "Principles  of  honour  and  right,"  210. 
Breath,  the  image  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  151. 
Breckinridge,  on  man's  generative  likeness  to  God,  141;  on  the  oneness 

of  the  race,  435 ;  en  the  imputation  of  Adam's  sin,  504. 
Brief  Sum,  by  the  Westminster  Assembly,  41,  287. 
Brown  of  Haddington,  on  the  eternal  generation,  75. 

Calvin,  on  the  imputation  of  Adam's  sin,  34;  on  that  of  Christ's  right- 
eousness, 435  ;  on  adoption,  69 ;  on  the  use  of  the  word,  guilt,  463 ; 
on  Rom.  v.  19,  444. 

Cartesian  philosophy. — Its  pantheistic  tendency,  104. 

Causation. — Scripture  doctrine,  101,  113.  Edwards'  theory,  103.  Taylor 
of  Norwich  holds  the  same,  103,  106.    It  is  unscriptural,  110. 

Cause  and  effect. — Office  of  the  law,  200,  247,  370,  372.  Incongruity  of 
the  theory  of  the  immediate  creation  of  souls,  with  this  law,  374. 

Christ,  was  God,  588.  His  humanity,  367,  579 ;  it  was  sinless,  587.  Origin 
of  his  soul,  367.  Union  with  his  people,  597,  607.  His  obedience, 
613.  His  conflicts  with  Satan,  628.  His  sufferings,  632.  They 
were  the  very  penalty  of  the  law,  620.  He  was  "made  sin,"  441. 
His  finished  obedience,  635.  How  he  came  under  the  curse,  606. 
He  suffered  for  the  elect,  610.  His  justifying  righteousness,  642. 
Union  with  him,  590,  640.  Inbeing  in  him,  429.  How  wrought, 
638.  Results,  640-655.  His  members  have  complacence  in  his 
righteousness,  448.  The  church  his  body,  590,  655.  It  is  a  spirit- 
ually organic  body,  657.  Its  office,  658.  Its  history,  660.  Its  inhe- 
ritance, 664,  676.  His  kingdom  and  glory,  665.  His  judgment 
throne,  558,  675.     He  is  the  mediatorial  revealer  of  God  to  all  crea- 


Index.  681 

hires,  573.  By  him  the  angels  confirmed,  577,  G7G.  See  Adam,  The 
Second. 

Church,  the  body  of  Christ,  590,  G55.  An  organic  body,  G57.  It  is  God's 
witness,  G58.  Design  of  the  ordinances,  G58.  Its  history,  660.  Its 
inheritance,  6G4,  676. 

Communion  with  God,  647. 

Confession  of  the  Remonstrants,  on  original  sin,  37,  38. 

Confessions  of  the  Reformed  church  on  original  sin,  29,  el  seq. 

"Conflict  of  Ages"  (Beecher's)  on  God's  sovereignty,  191;  on  inherent 
depravity,  510. 

Conscience,  not  attributable  to  God,  203,  236.  Its  nature,  functions  and 
office,  153,  203,  236.  That  of  Adam  infallible,  155.  It  is  depraved 
by  the  fall,  520. 

"Constituted"  relations,  unreal  and  false,  330.  In  them  Abelard  and 
Edwards  meet,  47. 

"Constitution." — Use  of  the  word  by  Edwards  and  his  followers,  109. 

Covenant. — The  word  defined,  295. 

Covenant  of  grace, — Boston  on  it,  608.     See  Everlasting  covenant. 

Covenant  of  works,  made  with  the  race,  generically,  and  engraven  on 
its  nature,  280,  288,  311,  323.  It  was  a  real  covenant,  295.  Gra- 
tuitous, 280.  Had  two  forms,  native  and  positive,  282,  310.  Its  pro- 
mise and  seals,  283, — the  garden,  282 ;  the  river  of  life,  284 ;  the  trees, 
284,  292;  the  Sabbath,  285.  Date  of  the  promise,  286.  The  positive 
constitution,  299;  effect  of  it,  300,  310. 

Creation.— Relation  of  the  Father  to  the  work,  52.  That  of  the  Son,  53. 
That  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  53.  Office  of  the  material  creation,  90. 
Its  immensity,  91.     It  is  God's  instrument,  114,  120. 

Creationism,  theory  as  to  the  origin  of  the  soul,  337.  Its  relation  to  mira- 
cles, 370;  to  the  law  of  cause  and  effect,  372;  and  to  the  doctrine 
of  original  sin,  375,  377.     It  is  Manichea-Pelagianism,  378. 

Creator,  God  the  Triune,  51.  The  name  of  the  Creator  plural,  52.  Pro- 
prietary right  of  the  Creator,  201,  211. 

Creature. — The  word  in  Rom.  viii.  11-23  means,  the  body,  653. 

Culverwell,  on  the  origin  of  the  soul,  375. 

Curse,  how  laid  on  Christ,  606.  It  was  the  very  penalty  of  the  law,  615, 
620.  He  bore  it  for  none  but  his  members,  his  elect,  610.  It  is 
signified  by  the  word,  death,  276. 

Dana,  on  species,  145. 

David,  the  covenant  with  him,  551. 

Death,  the  penalty  of  the  law,  263:  not  a  metaphor,  268;  not  physical 
dissolution,  274.  It  is  God's  inflicted  curse,  276.  It  is  the  wages 
of  sin,  419,  428.     Meaning  of  the  word  in  Rom.  v.  12,  414. 

Death,  bodily,  the  original  portion  of  the  brutes,  137.  It  came  upon 
man  by  sin,  274.     Case  of  Abel,  272. 

De  Moor,  on  the  imputation  of  Adam's  sin,  505. 

Depravation  of  man's  nature  in  Adam,  395, 428, 450,  531.  It  was  penal,  266, 
530;  but  notcausedbythe  interposition  of  God,  395, 531.  Hand  the 
resulting  depravity  are  inseparable  elements  in  the  sin  of  man,  527. 

Depravity. — History  of  opinion  on  native,  11.  Pelagian  and  Socinian  tes- 
timony to  the  fact,  510.  Its  evil,  511.  Its  elements,  517.  It  en- 
slaves the  whole  nature,  519.  Paul's  representation,  425,  451. 
Doctrine  of  other  scriptures,  521.  Its  sinfulness  flows  from  the  apos- 
tasy, 43,  498,  499.  The  propagation  of  it,  529.  Creation  theory  of 
its  propagation.  375.     Penal  privation  theory,  536. 


682  Index. 

Derziiavin. — Poetic  lines  from,  94. 

Devils,  to  be  included  among  natural  causes,  122.     They  owe  obedience 

even  in  hell,  217-220.     Their  final  doom,  674. 
Dickinson,  on  the  imputation  of  Adam's  sin,  507. 
Doctrinal  truth  gradually  developed,  11. 

Dominion  given  to  man,  184.     It  is  verified  in  Messiah's  throne,  96. 
Dort  Synod,  on  original  sin,  38. 
Dualism  of  the  creation  theory  as  to  the  origin  of  the  soul,  365. 

Earth,  the  throne  of  God's  moral  revelation,  95. 

Eden,  the  garden,  282;  a  type  of  heaven,  283.  The  river,  284,  677;  the 
trees,  284,  292,  677.     It  is  restored  by  the  second  Adam,  676. 

Edwards'  philosophy,  47.  Its  tendency  is  Pelagian,  48.  His  doctrine 
of  second  causes,  103.  It  is  unscriptural,  110;  and  pantheistic,  111. 
His  doctrine  of  identity,  105,  112.  His  use  of  the  word  "consti- 
tution," 109.  His  doctrine  of  the  will,  160;  of  motives,  163.  His 
definition  of  liberty,  170.  His  theory  on  the  moral  character  of 
actions,  254.  His  optimism,  399.  His  doctrine  of  mediate  impu- 
tation, 475 ;  and  on  the  propagation  of  original  sin,  533. 

Effectual  calling. — Christ  the  author  of  it,  638.  The  mode  of  it,  639. 
The  Word  the  instrument,  639.     The  Spirit  the  efficient  agent,  639. 

Elect  angels,  are  witnesses  and  students  of  the  revealed  glory  of  God, 
90,  97,  136,  141.  They  know  God  only  through  Christ,  573.  Con- 
firmed by  Christ  at  the  judgment,  577,  676. 

Elect  men,  for  them  only  Christ  died,  569,  610;  they  only  were  given  him 
in  the  covenant  of  life,  569.  They  are  innumerable,  672.  Will 
judge  the  angels,  675. 

Elohim. — The  divine  plurality  is  indicated  by  this  name,  52.  It  is  the 
designation  of  the  Father,  52.     Elohim  documents,  52,  53,  359. 

English  church,  articles  on  original  sin,  31. 

'E<j>'  u  means,  in  whom,  417. 

Eternal  generation. — The  doctrine,  78.  Demonstration  of  it,  54,  et  seq. 
It  is  shadowed  in  human  generation,  140. 

Eternal  plan  of  God,  82. 

Eve,  part  of  the  representative  head,  332,  427;  her  apostasy,  388. 

Everlasting  covenant,  553.  Its  parties  the  Father  and  Son,  556.  Its 
witness  the  Spirit,  560.  Its  seal,  572.  It  ordained  the  Son  revealer, 
573.  Its  beneficiaries  the  elect,  569.  The  earth  its  throne,  576. 
Its  purview  all  things,  575.     Its  dispensation  closed,  677. 

Evil. — Entrance  of  moral,  385.  It  was  by  free  will,  386,  13,  14.  Permis- 
sion of  it,  397,  405.  Hopkinsian  theories,  399.  Taylor's  doctrine, 
401.     Why  permitted,  409. 

Faith,  wrought  by  the  renewing  Spirit,  641,  645.  It  is  the  instrumental 
cause  of  justification,  644.     Reason  of  its  necessity,  645. 

Family  constitution. — The  key  to  its  significance,  314. 

Fate,  the  doctrine  of  Herodotus  and  Seneca,  195 ;  of  Beecher,  195. 

Father. — His  relation  to  the  eternal  Son,  54,  78 ;  to  the  work  of  creation, 
52 ;  to  the  election,  558,  608 ;  to  the  eternal  covenant,  555,  559 ;  to 
justification,  642 ;  to  adoption,  649 ;  to  the  inheritance,  677.  Receives 
the  kingdom  at  the  end,  676. 

Father  and  son,  names  and  relations  of  peculiar  significance  in  the 
scheme  of  God,  74. 

"It  is  finished,"  635. 

Fitch's  definition  of  sin,  243. 


Index.  683 

Flavel,  on  the  origin  of  the  soul,  352. 

Form. — Definition  of  the  word  as  used  in  the  old  philosophy,  342. 

Formula  Consensus  Helvetica,  on  the  imputation  of  Adam's  sin,  46. 

Freedom,  defined,  171. 

Future  kingdom  of  Christ,  669. 

Gallic  confession,  on  original  sin,  30. 

Garden  of  Eden,  282,  677. 

Generation,  defined,  79,  139.  It  is  not  a  phenomenon  of  mere  matter, 
346,  348.  Wonderful  nature  of  it,  143.  Law  of  it,  that  like  begets 
like,  324.  That  of  the  Son  of  God,  54.  It  is  shadowed  forth  in 
that  of  man,  137,  140. 

God,  revealed  in  the  creation,  84.  Presumption  and  unbelief  alike  to  be 
avoided  in  studying  his  nature,  138.  His  moral  nature  revealed 
in  the  law,  94,  228 ;  in  the  moral  intelligences,  235 ;  in  Adam,  95, 
132;  and  in  Christ,  95,  97,  667.  Conscience  not  predicable  of  him, 
203.  The  God  of  the  Socinian  can  have  no  moral  nature,  229. 
God's  moral  attributes,  228.  They  imply  community  and  hence  plu- 
rality in  the  Godhead,  229.  Are  the  ground  of  God's  blessedness, 
230.  He  glories  in  them,  231.  Their  revelation  the  end  of  all 
things,  84.  Their  essential  nature  and  evidence,  233.  Design  of 
their  revelation,  235,  85.  They  all  harmonize  in  the  salvation  of 
man,  546.  God's  infinite  excellence  the  first  principle  of  morals, 
234.  His  nature  the  norm  of  the  law,  228.  His  beneficence  is 
free  from  obligation,  402. 

God's  sovereignty,  187.  It  is  irresponsible,  203.  The  Scripture  doc- 
trine, 201,210.  Ilopkinsian  doctrine,  191.  Beecher's  experiment, 
207.  It  involves  us  in  total  darkness,  206;  and  overshadows  God's 
glory,  209.  God's  will  the  final  reason  of  the  creatures,  211,  239. 
That  will  is  the  expression  of  his  nature,  therefore  holy,  239. 

God's  providential  sovereignty,  129.  His  upholding  presence  and  power, 
126.  A  present  God  the  refuge  of  the  believer,  123.  His  eternal 
plan,  86.  The  providential  administration  of  it,  100.  Evolution 
of  the  plan,  665. 

Goodwin,  on  original  sin,  42,  499. 

Graces,  wrought  by  the  Spirit,  640,  649. 

Green,  on  the  origin  of  the  soul,  337. 

Grotius,  on  original  sin,  479. 

Guilt,  defined,  461.  Definition  of  Marck,  463 ;  of  Van  Mastricht,  464;  of 
Rutherford,  465.  Usage  of  Calvin,  463;  of  the  Westminster  As- 
sembly, 469. 

Headship. — Distinction  of  natural,  moral,  and  federal,  309.  Christ's  is 
his  consummate  relation  to  his  people,  656. 

Heber. — Poetic  lines  by,  91. 

Helvetic  confessions,  on  original  sin,  30,  33.  Formula  Consensus,  on 
mediate  imputation,  46. 

Henry,  on  Job's  confession,  205;  on  Eve's  apostasy,  389. 

Hilary  of  Poictiers,  on  original  sin,  16. 

Hodge,  on  the  word,  sin,  435,  446;  on  inbeing  in  Christ,  429.  His  expo- 
sition of  the  fifth  of  Romans,  436.  Relation  of  his  doctrine  of 
imputation  to  the  depravation  of  the  race  in  Adam,  450.  Defini- 
tion of  imputation,  471. 

Holiness  and  riguteousness,  wherein  different,  182.  Adam's  endow- 
ment, 182. 


684  Index. 

Hoornbeek,  on  the  imputation  of  Adam's  sin,  506. 

Hopkinsian  system,  47 ;  doctrine  of  God's  sovereignty,  188.  This  the 
cause  of  infidelity,  190.     On  the  origin  of  sin,  533. 

Identity,  by  community  of  nature,  317.  Law  of,  494,  317.  Edwards' 
doctrine,  105.     Modern  form  of  it,  49. 

Immortality. — That  of  Adam's  body,  136;  of  the  soul, — its  nature,  349. 

Imputation,  defined,  471;  of  Adam's  sin,  474.  Edwards'  doctrine,  475. 
Arminian  doctrine,  479.  Imputation  for  punishment  without  im- 
peachment of  crime,  491.     See  Original  Sin. 

Inability,  total,  523.     "Natural  ability,"  524. 

Inbeing  in  Adam,  429,  496.  Its  reality  does  not  imply  mediate  imputa- 
tion, 504. 

Inbeing  in  Christ,  429,  435,  590,  638. 

Insects  and  animalcules  are  monuments  of  God's  creative  skill,  91,  93. 

Intuition. — Its  office  in  religion,  200. 

Ithiel  and  Ucal,  60. 

Jehovah  Elohim,  Lord  God,  the  name  of  Christ,  53. 
Job. — The  book  an  exposition  of  God's  irresponsible  sovereignty,  205. 
Judas. — Satan  personally  in  him,  631. 
Judgment, — The  last,  675. 

Justification. — The  matter  of  it,  642.  The  ground  of  it,  643.  The  in- 
strumental cause,  644. 

Kent's  definition  of  a  covenant,  296. 

Kingdom  of  Christ,  Universal,  575,  665.  From  everlasting,  575.  Deli- 
vered up  to  the  Father,  676.  Kingdom  of  grace,  638,  668.  That 
sceptre  perpetual,  677. 

Language. — Its  sense  one,  177.  Its  sense  modified  in  application  to  God, 
80.     As  addressed  to  Adam,  proves  the  extent  of  his  knowledge,  177. 

Law,  defined,  295,  457. 

Law  of  God,  187.  It  was  written  on  Adam's  heart,  155.  Its  authority 
grows  out  of  the  will  of  God,  the  Creator,  201,  211,  239.  Its  ex- 
cellence, from  the  nature  of  God,  the  holy,  240.  Its  offices,  214, 
251.  It  addresses  the  nature,  251.  Its  principle  considered,  228. 
The  principle  is,  conformity  to  God's  moral  nature,  238.  This  con- 
stitutes an  impassable  line  between  good  and  evil,  239.  It  binds 
devils,  angels,  and  men,  217.  Is  comprehensive,  of  the  being,  215, 
253.  It  is  perfect,  240.  Unchangeable,  216.  Suits  all  cases,  222. 
Eequires  perfect  obedience,  214.  Its  sum  is,  Glorify  God,  213. 
Requires  of  sinners  repentance  and  faith,  223.  Provides  no  sal- 
vation for  transgressors,  224.  Yet  salvation  only  by  it,  226,  613. 
It  is  forever  sovereign  in  heaven  and  hell,  241.  It  was  given  as  a 
covenant,  280.     Necessity  and  nature  of  its  sanctions,  263,  291. 

Leibnitz. — His  definition  of  liberty,  171.  Optimism,  397,  404.  Theory 
of  providence, — Pre-established  harmony,  117.  On  the  origin  of 
the  soul,  339. 

Liberty. — Definition  of,  170.     That  of  the  sons  of  God,  169. 

Like  begets  like. — The  law  of  generation,  324,  355,  360. 

Little  things. — There  are  none,  88,  89. 

Luther's  opinion  of  the  scholastic  doctrine  of  original  sin,  380;  on  the 
difference  between  image  and  likeness,  135. 

Lyford,  on  original  sin,  44. 


Index.  685 

Man,  generically,  was  created  in  Adam,  133.  The  old  and  new  in  one 
person,  454,  651. 

Manhood  of  Christ,  necessary,  579;  relation  to  it  of  the  creation  theory 
of  the  origin  of  the  soul,  3G7. 

Marck's  definition  of  guilt,  403  ;  on  original  sin,  30.  Sinners  only  pun- 
ished, 489. 

Marginal  readings  of  the  Bible.     Their  authority,  417. 

Marshall,  on  the  mystical  union,  592,  600. 

McCosh,  on  a  particular  providence,  110.     On  answer  to  prayer,  117. 

Mediate  imputation. — Invented  by  Placseus,  40.  Adopted  by  Edwards,  47, 
475.   Mistake  respecting  it,  504.    De  Moor's  argument  against  it,  505. 

Mediator. — Christ  that  of  angels  as  well  as  men,  573.  That  of  man  must 
himself  be  man,  579 ;  and  God,  588. 

Memhiizedek. — Christ  after  his  order,  557. 

MetafS^rs,  imply  man  fallen,  208. 

Millenium. — Its  coming  sudden,  070.  All  will  be  holy,  672.  The  time 
will  be  protracted,  673. 

Milton.— Lines  from,  132,  184,  334. 

Miracle. — Defined,  370.  Its  office,  119,  121,  370.  In  relation  to  the 
origin  of  the  soul,  370. 

Molin^eus,  on  the  origin  of  the  soul,  343. 

Moral  agency,  237.     Freedom  essential  to  it,  167. 

Moral  nature. — Defined,  236,  152.  Why  given  to  creatures,  235,  247. 
Phenomena  of,  244.  It  holds  specific  relations  to  external  things, 
159,  245.  It  is  a  determinate  cause,  245,  247.  The  effects  there- 
fore attach  to  it,  247.  The  design  is  the  reflection  of  God's  essen- 
tial perfections,  249. 

Moral  obligation,  187,  200,  211.  It  attaches  to  the  nature,  249,  250;  and 
lays  hold  of  the  person,  250. 

Moral  sense,  and  conscience,  as  contradistinguished,  153,  236. 

Morell,  on  the  Cartesian  philosophy,  104. 

Names  of  God. — They  announce  his  perfections,  73. 

"  Natural  ability"  absurd,  523. 

Nature. — The  word  defined,  148.  That  of  man  created  in  Adam,  144- 
150.  Doctrine  of  Augustine,  21,  490 ;  of  Abelard,  26  ;  of  the  Belgic 
confession,  32;  of  Boston,  45;  of  Calvin,  34;  of  Dickinson,  507;  of 
De  Moor  and  Iloornbeek,  500;  of  Goodwin,  42,  499:  of  Lyford,  44; 
of  Odo,  27;  of  Parous  and  Poole,  474;  of  Rutherford,  468.  It  de- 
termines the  will,  160.  Owes  glory  to  God,  249  252.  Apostatized 
in  Adam,  395,  474. 

Nature, — Office  of  the  system  of,  114. 

Neander. — Citations  from,  23,  26,  336. 

New  Haven. — System  of,  49;  on  permission  of  moral  evil,  401. 

New  Jerusalem,  677. 

New  man  and  old,  in  one  person,  Paul's  doctrine,  454,  651. 

Nominal  and  Real  philosophy,  25. 

North  British  Review,  on  the  wonders  of  nature,  347. 

0.\Tn  of  God. — The  seal  of  the  eternal  covenant,  572. 

Obedience. — Due  to  God,  187 ;  of  Christ,  605. 

Object. — Requisite  to  an  intelligent  agent,  82.     That  of  God, — his  own 

glory,  83; — and  the  happiness  of  the  creatures,  85. 
Odo,  or  Udardus,  on  original  sin,  27. 
Old  man  and  new,  in  one  person,  454,  651. 


686  Index. 

Olive. — The  wild  and  the  good,  432. 

Optimism. — Defined,  399.     Phases  of  it,  397 

Origen,  on  the  pre-existence  of  the  soul,  336,  17. 

Original  righteousness. — Scholastic  doctrine,  26,  28,  379.  That  of  Adam, 
182.     Its  want  an  element  of  native  depravity,  518. 

Original  sin. — History  of  the  doctrine,  11.  Paul's  discussion,  410.  Im- 
putation of  Adam's  sin,  474.  Inherent  depravity,  510.  Stuart's 
doctrine,  514.  Arminian  theory,  37,  479.  Propagation  of,  529. 
Penal  privation  theory,  536.     Creation  theory,  375. 

Owen. — On  Christ's  assumption  of  the  curse,  607;  on  Christ  "made  sin 
for  us,"  442 ;  on  aliena  culpa,  443. 

Paine,  in  harmony  with  Beecher,  197. 

Pantheistic  tendency  of  Cartesianism,  104. 

Parallel  of  Adam  and  Christ,  319,  447. 

Parous,  on  original  sin,  474. 

Parthenogenesis,  347. 

Paul's  discussion  of  original  sin,  410. 

Pelagius,  a  rationalist,  364.  His  doctrine  on  original  sin,  17.  His  defi- 
nition of  sin,  243. 

Penalty  of  the  law. — What  it  is,  264.  Must  be  prescribed  in  terms  in 
the  law,  264;  attaches  to  none  but  transgressors,  488.  Barnes'  de- 
finition, 264.  He  confounds  "the  penalty  of  the  law,"  with  "the 
penalty  of  sin,"  267.     See  Punishment. 

Permission  of  moral  evil,  397. 

Person.— Defined,  80,  237. 

Philosophy. — Its  proper  relation  to  revelation,  363. 

Physical  depravity,  514. 

Pictet,  on  the  origin  of  the  soul,  377. 

Plac^eus,  on  original  sin, — mediate  imputation,  45. 

Plan  of  God,  86.  One  pre-requisite  to  wise  action,  86.  It  gradually. un- 
folds, 87.  Comprehends  all  things,  88.  Is  infallibly  fulfilled,  114. 
Its  fulfilment  secured  in  the  eternal  covenant,  575. 

Plato. — On  the  origin  of  the  soul,  336.     On  optimism,  397. 

Pleasure. — In  what  it  consists,  165.     It  does  not  rule  the  will,  164. 

Pollok. — Lines  from,  547. 

Poole,  on  the  imputation  of  Adam's  sin,  474. 

Prayer. — Answer  to,  117. 

Preaching. — The  means  of  salvation,  639. 

Pre-established  harmony. — Theories  of  Leibnitz  and  McCosh,  117. 

Presumption  and  unbelief  both  wrong  in  studying  the  nature  of  God,  138. 

Promise. — Defined,  295.     History  of  that  of  the  covenant,  548. 

Propagation  of  souls. — The  law,  like  begets  like,  324,  355.  Objections, 
341,  351.     See  Creationism. 

Providential  administration,  100.  Twofold  sphere, — material  and  moral, 
124.  In  the  former,  mediate,  uniform  and  jiermanent,  124.  In 
the  latter,  immediate,  125.  Mode  of  administration,  126.  It  is 
sovereign  and  absolute,  129. 

Punishment  applies  to  none  but  criminals,  488,  491,  264. 

Purpose  of  God,  86.     See  Plan  of  God. 

Princeton  Review. — On  Beecher's  " apparent  causation,"  491.  On  "sub- 
stance of  doctrine,"  436. 

Real  and  Nominal  philosophy,  25. 

Reason. — Its  office  in  Adam,  152.     Depraved  by  the  fall,  519. 


Index.  687 

Eeatus  pcen/E  et  cvlpje,  463,  4G5,  468. 
Reformed  confessions  on  original  sin,  29. 
"Regarded  and  treated"  as  sinners,  50,  439. 
Regeneration.— The  manner  of  it,  640. 

Representation.— Principle  of,  329.     That  of  the  race   by  Adam,  305. 
Mode  of  it,  311.     Constructive,  323.     The  Bible  represents  it  as 

real,  331.  .  .  .         . 

Responsibility— Sense  of.— Effect  of  theories  of  original  sin,  500. 
Righteousness  and  holiness.— The  distinction,  182.     That  of  Adam,  182. 
Romans.— Analysis  of  the  epistle,  410.    Exposition  of  ch.  v.  12,  et  seq.,  412. 
Rosceline,  the  father  of  the  Nominal  philosophy,  26. 
Rousseau  and  Beecher  in  harmony,  199. 

Sanctification.— God's  Word  the  means,  649.     The  Spirit  the  agent,  650. 
Sanctions.— Requisite  to  the  law,  263.     There  were  two,  263.     Life,  289, 

291   302.     Death,  268. 
Satan.— His  temptation  of  Adam  and  Eve,  387 ;  of  Christ,  628,  630.     His 

last  struggle,  674. 
Schoolmen.— On  original  sin,  25;  on  the  origin  ot  the  soul,  o<o,  oU. 
Scotch  confession,  on  original  sin,  31. 
Seal.— Defined,  294.     Those  of  the  covenant  of  works,  294.     That  ol  the 

eternal  covenant,  572. 
Second  causes. — Theories  of  them,  100. 
SEED. — The  Spirit  the  incorruptible,  320. 
Seneca. — On  Fate,  195.     "  Video  mcliora,"  166. 
Servant.— Christ  in  the  form,  584.     See  Obedience  of  Christ. 
Seth's  moral  nature  propagated  from  his  father,  356. 
Sin  —Nature  of  it,  243,  259.     Two  evils  in  it,— unhkeness  to  God;  and, 
rebellion,  259,  266.     Two  forms  of  punishment,  266.    The  word  how 
used,  484.     Meaning  of  it  in  Rom.  v.  12,  412.     Hodge  on  it,  435. 
Witsius,  437.    Grotius  and  Whitby,  479.    Sin  an  indwelling  power, 
457  ;  original  in  Adam,  459.    Sometimes  penal,  never  caused  by  God, 
531.'    Edwards'  doctrine,  533.     Sin  of  nature,  256. 
Sinai  law,  and  that  given  to  Adam,  the  same,  277. 
Sinners  only  punished,  488.     See  Punishment. 

Son  of  God,  a  divine  title,  62,  6G,  71.     For  the  claim  of  it  Christ  was 
condemned,  64.     His  generation,  54.     He  was  the  Creator,  53.     His 
coronation,  54,  575,  665,  668.     Sonship  of  his  humanity,  70. 
Sonship  to  God,  by  union  with  Christ,  69,  64G.     Its  Privileges,  647. 
Soul.— Aristotle's  definition  of  it,  344.     Its  origin,  335.     Theories  on  this 
subject,  336-341.     Doctrine  of  Tertullian,  14;  of  Augustine,  19;  of 
Pelagius,  17  ;  of  the  schoolmen,  28,  376 ;  of  the  Scriptures,  355.     Its 
natural  attributes,  152.     Its   moral  powers,  152.     Distinction  of 
pure,  impure,  and  not-pure,  379,  28.     See  Moral  nature. 
Southern  Presbyterian  Review. — On  origin  of  the  soul,  345,  368.     On 

imputation,  504.  . 

Sovereignty  of  God,  necessary,  187,  212;  by  right,  187,  211;  asserted  in 

the  Scriptures,  201. 
Special  providences.— Theories  of,  116.     Their  office,  119.     God  s  imme- 
diate hand  is  everywhere,  123. 
Species. — Dana  on,  145.     Different  theories,  149. 

Spirit  of  God.— Mode  of  his  subsistence,  79.  The  breath  his  image,  151. 
His  office  in  the  eternal  covenant,  5G0.  His  agency  in  the  crea- 
tion, 53 ;  in  restraining  men's  wickedness,  127 ;  in  leading  their 
thoughts,   128;  in  working   in   them   all  good,   129;   in  effectual 


688  Index. 

calling,  639;  in  regeneration,  640;  in  adoption,  646;  in  sancti- 
fication, 649 ;  in  divine  communion,  647 ;  in  the  resurrection,  652. 
He  is  the  incorruptible  seed,  320.  The  author  of  the  mystical 
union,  597,  656. 

Stapfer. — A  disciple  of  Leibnitz,  398.     His  optimism,  399. 

Starry  heavens,  91. 

Stuart,  on  man's  native  state,  514.     On  Romans  v.  12,  412. 

Substance. — Defined,  101. 

Substitution. — In  what  it  consists,  618.     Barnes'  doctrine,  618. 

Taylor  of  New  Haven. — On  permission  of  moral  evil,  49,  401,  405. 

Taylor  of  Norwich. — Theory  of  second  causes,  103,  106.  On  the  mean- 
ing of,  the  word  death,  414. 

Temptation,  of  Adam  and  Eve,  387 ;  of  Christ,  629. 

Tentamina  Theodicac^e.     See  Leibnitz. 

Tertullian. — His  character,  12.  His  doctrine  of  original  sin,  12.  On 
the  origin  of  the  soul,  14. 

Tree  and  branches. — Adam  and  the  race,  41,  433. 

Trees  of  Life  and  Knowledge,  284,  292.     Effect  of  the  prohibition,  292. 

Trinity. — The  doctrine,  78.  The  Persons  coequal,  79 ;  coeternal  and  one, 
80.     By  them  the  creation  was  made,  51. 

Truth. — The  instrument  in  effectual  calling,  639 ;  and  in  sanctification,  649. 

UCAL    AND    ITHIEL,  60. 

Udardus,  or  Odo,  on  original  sin,  27. 

Union, — Mystical,  590,  manner  of  it,  638.     By  virtue  of  it,  Christ  subject 

to  the  curse,  607.     It  is  the  ground  of  justification,  642 ;  of  adoption, 

646 ;  the  means  of  communion  with  God,  647 ;  of  sanctification,  649 ; 

of  the  resurrection,  652. 
Universe. — Its  vastness,  92.     It  proclaims  the  Creator,  I  am,  90.     It  is 

God's  instrument,  116,  120.     The  theatre  of  moral  revelation,  124. 
Ursinus,  on  original  sin,  36.     On  Christ's  humanity,  580. 

Van  Mastricht. — On  Adam's  likeness  to  God,  185 ;  on  creationism  and 
original  sin,  381 ;  on  the  meaning  of  guilt,  464. 

Westminster  formularies. — Brief  Sum,  40,287.  Confession,  39,  100,  128, 
131, 173,  287,  367,  469,  470,  659.  Catechisms,  243,  287,  298,  327,  367, 
469,  587,  597. 

Whitby,  on  the  word,  "sin,"  479 ;  on  Christ's  justifying  righteousness,  481. 

Wiggers'  statement  of  the  doctrine  of  Pelagius,  17  ;  on  that  of  Augustine, 
21.     Pelagius  a  rationalist.     Augustine  a  super-rationalist,  364. 

Will,  of  Adam,  158.  It  is  the  soul  operating  on  the  powers  as  an  effi- 
cient cause  of  action,  159,  172.  As  is  the  nature,  so  is  the  will, 
162.  It  is  free,  166.  Pleasure  does  not  control  it,  164.  Reason 
and  conscience  do  not,  166.     See  Edwards. 

Wisdom  of  God,  55.     Christ  is  he,  58. 

Wisheart's  definition  of  the  eternal  generation,  139. 

Witherspoon,  on  the  origin  and  depravation  of  the  soul,  337. 

Witness  of  the  covenant. — The  Spirit,  560. 

Witsius,  on  Adam's  original  holiness,  183 ;  on  original  sin,  437 ;  reply  to 
Grotius  on  the  subject,  481. 

Young. — Poetic  lines  from,  545,  636. 


E  RRATA. 

The  quotations  on  pp.  36,  403,  472,  489,  5S7,  which  are  attributed  to  J. 
Marckius,  should  he  accredited  to  Samuel  Maresius,  or  Pes  Marets,  professor 
at  Groningen  during  the  middle  of  the  17th  century,  They  are  derived  from 
his  work  entitled  ■'  Collegium  Theologicum,  sive  Systema  Breve  UniversaD 
Theologian;  comprehensum  Octodecim  Disputationibus  Collegialiter  olim  habitis 
in  Academia  Provinciali  Illustrium  ac  PP.  Ordinum  Groninga?  et  Omlandiae ; 
a  Samuele  Maresio,  S.  S.  Theol.  Doctore,  ejusdemque  Pacultatis  Professors 
Primario,  Historic  Ecclesiastics  Ordinario,  et  Pastore  Gallicffl  Eeclesia?." 


688  Index. 

calling,  639;   in   regeneration,  640;  in  adoption,  646;   in   sancti- 

fication,  649;  in  divine  communion,  647;  in  the  resurrection,  652. 

He  is  the  incorruptible  seed,  320.     The  author  of  the  mystical 

union,  597,  656. 
Stapfer. — A  disciple  of  Leibnitz,  398.     His  optimism,  399. 
.Starry  heavens,  91. 

Stuart,  on  man's  native  state,  514.     On  Eomans  v.  12,  412. 
Substance. — Defined,  101. 
Substitution. — In  what  it  consists,  618.     Barnes'  doctrine,  618. 

Taylor  of  New  Haven. — On  permission  of  moral  evil,  49,  401,  405. 
Taylor  of  Norwich. — Theory  of  second  causes,  103,  106.     On  the  mean- 


21.     Pelagius  a  rationalist.     Augustine  a  super-rationalist,  364. 

Will,  of  Adam,  158.  It  is  the  soul  operating  on  the  powers  as  an  effi- 
cient cause  of  action,  159,  172.  As  is  the  nature,  so  is  the  will, 
162.  It  is  free,  166.  Pleasure  does  not  control  it,  164.  Eeason 
and  conscience  do  not,  166.     See  Edwards. 

Wisdom  of  God,  55.     Christ  is  he,  58. 

Wisheart's  definition  of  the  eternal  generation,  139. 

Witherspoon,  on  the  origin  and  depravation  of  the  soul,  337. 

Witness  of  the  covenant. — The  Spirit,  560. 

Witsius,  on  Adam's  original  holiness,  183 ;  on  original  sin,  437 ;  reply  to 
Grotius  on  the  subject,  481. 

Young. — Poetic  lines  from,  545,  636. 


■      ■  ^H 


H 


V,-'.-.V  ■ 


| 


